Dutch Parties Agree on Final Formation of Right-Wing Government, Wilders Says

AMSTERDAM – Political parties in the Netherlands have finalized the formation of their incoming right-wing government, Geert Wilders, leader of the nationalist PVV party, announced on Tuesday.

Following nearly six months of negotiations, the PVV reached a coalition agreement last month with three other conservative parties. However, the allocation of cabinet posts had remained unresolved until now. “We have reached an agreement,” Wilders told reporters after almost four weeks of discussions regarding the distribution of positions among the four parties.

Last month, the coalition announced that political outsider Dick Schoof, who is not affiliated with any party, would serve as prime minister of the new government. Schoof, 67, recently served as the senior official at the Dutch justice ministry and has a long history of leadership roles, including heading the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD and the anti-terrorism agency NCTV. He was also the head of the Dutch immigration service in the early 2000s.

Schoof will lead a cabinet that, according to the coalition parties, will have looser ties to parliament. Details on the individuals who will fill the other cabinet posts have not yet been disclosed.