A coalition agreement has been reached in the Netherlands: media report sharp rightward shift with Wilders' party dominating government
Kyiv • UNN
The Dutch coalition agreement introduces harsh measures against asylum seekers, abolishes family reunification for refugees, aims to reduce the number of foreign students and deport as many people as possible without valid residence permits, which is pushing the country toward the hard right, AP writes.
In the Netherlands, "anti-Islam firebrand" Geert Wilders and three other party leaders agreed early Thursday morning on a coalition agreement that steers the country "toward the hard right," ending six months of tumultuous negotiations that still left it unclear who would become prime minister, AP reports, UNN writes.
Details
The "Hope, courage and pride" agreement introduces harsh measures against asylum seekers, abolishes the possibility of family reunification for refugees and aims to reduce the number of foreign students studying in the country, the newspaper writes. "Deport as many people as possible without a valid residence permit, even by force," the 26-page document quoted by the newspaper says.
"Today we are writing history," Wilders said, indicating that he had made sure that the other three coalition parties, including the party of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, had accepted the essence of his program.
"The sun will shine again in the Netherlands," Wilders said. - "This is the strongest asylum policy in history.
"With hard-right and populist parties now in or leading half a dozen governments in the 27-nation European Union, they appear well positioned to succeed in the bloc's June 6-9 elections," AP writes.
Wilders was reportedly a political ally of such leaders as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Prime Minister George Meloni, and French opposition leader Marine Le Pen.
"My party will be at the center of power. This makes us very proud," Wilders said.
However, as noted, he had to make a personal compromise. "Wilders has already reluctantly admitted that he will not replace Rutte at the helm of the country. The parties have yet to agree on a candidate for prime minister, who is expected to be a technocrat who is not part of the party structures," the publication says.
"The rumors centered on Ronald Plasterer of the Labor Party, who became popular again this year when he became the first 'scout' to hold talks with political leaders about possible coalitions," the newspaper writes.
The agreement states that the next government will continue to implement existing climate change plans, including continuing to pay for the climate change fund established last year. At the same time, as noted, part of the coalition is the Civic Farmers' Movement, and the agreement includes calming language and concessions to farmers who blocked cities with tractors during recent protests.
Other points of the agreement include an increase in the number of social housing, stricter penalties for serious crimes, and a cap on property taxes.
"The group intends to continue to support Ukraine and wants to enshrine in law the NATO standard of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense," the newspaper writes.
The EU headquarters, the newspaper notes, "may not welcome the line in the coalition agreement" that states that "the Netherlands is very critical of further enlargement of the European Union" while many other member states want to add Ukraine and some other eastern countries. The EU needs unanimity among the bloc's member states before it can add anyone else.
The parties will explain the program of the parliament on Thursday, although the debate on it will take place only next week, the newspaper writes.
