Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof delivered his inaugural address to parliament on Wednesday, expressing a commitment to curbing immigration. Schoof, who ascended to the prime minister’s office after months of negotiations between populist and center-right political parties to form a government, stated: “The biggest of those concerns is asylum and migration. That is the crux of the matter, no matter how you look at it.”
Schoof, 67, is a former chief of Dutch intelligence and counterterrorism. His appointment occurred amidst the formation of a new coalition government following the collapse of the previous governing coalition on July 7 of last year. The anti-mass migration Party for Freedom, led by Geert Wilders, secured the largest number of seats in the country’s November 2023 election. However, it took 223 days to establish a four-party coalition, as opposition from other coalition partners prevented Wilders from obtaining the premiership.
The governing coalition includes Wilders‘ Party for Freedom (PVV), former Prime Minister Mark Rutte‘s center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, the populist Farmer Citizen Movement, and the New Social Contract party. Its guiding document, ‘Hope, Courage, and Pride,’ outlines stringent asylum measures, abolishes family reunification (chain immigration) for refugees, and aims to decrease the number of international students in the Netherlands.
“Migration puts too much pressure on social services and social cohesion. The asylum and migration figures are high and so is the pressure on society,” Schoof told lawmakers.
Conversely, opposition leader Frans Timmermans—of the social democrat-green alliance—harshly criticized the new government, labeling the Party for Freedom-inspired policies “racist.” He also announced plans to submit a motion of no-confidence against two cabinet members from Wilders‘ party.
In response, Wilders denied any allegations of “Nazi racist theories” among his party colleagues.
