“We are very happy. “There is already an agreement.” With these words, the Dutch far-right leader, Geert Wilders, announced this Tuesday the agreement reached to decide the composition of the new Government of the Netherlands. His Party for Freedom (PVV) is the majority in a coalition made up of three other right-wing parties and, although the names of the heads of each department have not been revealed, it is expected that half will come from outside politics. They must be experts in their respective fields. The future prime minister, Dick Schoof,—the only name already known—is a senior official who previously directed the intelligence services and the fight against terrorism. He left his social democratic card in 2021.
There will be 15 ministries (five less than the current Executive). Wilders’ PVV will deal with Migration, Health, Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, and Foreign Trade-Development Cooperation, as detailed by public television NOS. For the VVD liberals it will be Finance, Justice, Defense and Climate. New Social Contract will carry Foreign Affairs, Education, Social Affairs and Interior. And the Peasant-Citizen Movement (BBB) will be in charge of Agriculture and Housing. The four formations will each have a deputy prime minister. In addition, there will be between 12 and 13 state secretaries.
Once officially presented, the ministers will appear before Congress to answer questions from deputies about their suitability. Once this test has been passed, the new Government hopes to be ready to take the family photo with King William of Orange at the end of June. The summer parliamentary term begins on July 5. The leaders of the four groups that make up the Government – including Wilders – will remain in Congress.
Negotiations to put together a government coalition led by Wilders, the Netherlands’ best-known extremist politician, have not been easy. Although the other three formations are also in the orbit of the right, the extremist ideology of the ultra leader has complicated the pact. In May, after six months of meetings and setbacks, it was agreed that half of the ministers would be independent technicians. It was one of the requirements of the New Social Contract, which stressed the defense of the law and the rule of law to remain in the coalition. Wilders agreed not to be prime minister and assured that he had moderated his ideas.
As a glue for an Executive of these characteristics, two things were necessary. On the one hand, a framework agreement on issues such as health, foreign policy, control of crime and polluting emissions. On the other hand, a solid financial framework. On May 16, during the presentation of the government pact, it was learned that they will demand that the European Commission not participate in asylum and migration policy, in addition to greater border control. Exemptions will also be sought in climate policy, although community standards are mandatory for the 27 partners.
The government pact – which they have called Hope, courage and pride― has been reviewed by officials from various ministries. His analysis appears in a 682-page document presented to Congress last week and warns of several things. Among them, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be affected “especially harshly” by the proposed cut in civil servants. The text also questions the “legal viability of a downward revision” of the polluting emissions figures. Furthermore, the document indicates that to improve the surveillance of criminals demanded by the new Executive, prisons would have to be reformed first. And he adds that the VAT increase proposed for the cultural sector – from 9% to 21% – may affect the price of school textbooks.
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