Dutch populist leader Geert Wilders has withdrawn his bid for the post of prime minister of the Netherlands, despite his party's victory in the 2023 elections, the BBC reports, according to UNN.
Details
"I can only become prime minister if all parties in the coalition support this. This has not happened," Wilders wrote in X.
"I would like a right-wing cabinet. Less asylum and immigration," Wilders said in a post on Wednesday night, adding that "love for my country and voters is bigger and more important than my own position.
His right-wing Freedom Party (PVV) won the most votes last year, but needed the support of other parties to form a coalition.
Wilders, 60, has spent months in talks with the center-right VVD, NSC and farmers' BBB parties in an attempt to form a coalition government.
According to the Dutch public broadcaster NOS, the leaders of the three parties insisted this week that the only way to move forward is if all four party leaders agree to have no role in the government.
The PVV's talks with the other three parties on the composition of the new government continue. The negotiator leading the latest round of talks, which ended on Tuesday, is due to submit his report to parliament on Thursday.
It was not yet clear whether a compromise figure had emerged for the post of prime minister.
A parliamentary debate on this issue is expected on Thursday.
Addendum
The PVV's victory last year not only shook up Dutch politics, but also had implications for the whole of Europe, as the Netherlands is one of the founding members of the current European Union.