Netherlands Shifts Sharply to the Right with New Government Dominated by Geert Wilders’ Party

Anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders and three other party leaders have agreed on a coalition deal that steers the Netherlands toward the hard right. Wilders hailed the deal as “a historic day,” claiming that his party’s core program had been accepted by the other coalition parties. Although it remains unclear who will become Prime Minister, speculation centers on Ronald Plasterk from the Labor Party.

The coalition deal also includes plans to combat climate change, increase social housing, impose stricter sentences for serious crimes, and enshrine NATO’s defense spending requirement into law. The program will be explained to parliament on May 16, with a debate scheduled for the following week.