TRANSCRIPT
Just 11 months after taking office, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof has now visited the King to tell him his government has collapsed.
"I have informed all four party leaders several times that, as far as I am concerned, the fall of the cabinet was unnecessary and irresponsible.”
It’s all because of one man: far-right firebrand Geert Wilders.
He withdrew his Freedom party from the governing coalition after his demands to toughen the Netherlands’ asylum policies were rejected and now says he intends to be the next Prime Minister.
REPORTER: "Are you now considering ending your political career?"
WILDERS: "No, in fact, I am going to become the Prime Minister of the Netherlands next time and participate in the elections again to ensure that the Freedom Party will be bigger than ever."
His former coalition partners like head of the V-V-D Party Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius are furious, believing this isn’t about immigration policy which had already been tightened, but Mr Wilders’ desire for greater power.
“You can see how angry I am. There is a war going on. There may be an economic crisis coming our way. People are worried about it, about their bills. We had a right-wing majority that was able to make things better. Yes, and he drops it all, just for his own interests, for his own ego. I find it so irresponsible.”
A new election will now be held, likely in October.
The Freedom Party, already the largest in the Dutch parliament, is hoping to make the campaign about immigration.
But the Dutch political system often requires coalition agreements, and political analyst Rene Cuperus questions who would want to work with Mr Wilders in future.
“They all have said more or less, ‘We want not to have a new cabinet with an unreliable partner.’ So this, I think, is suicidal politics for Wilders, that he shot himself in the foot by breaking up his own government.”
Opposition parties are ready to seize on the chaos, including Labour Party leader Frans Timmermans.
"Well, I think it's an opportunity for all democratic parties to rid ourselves of the extremes, because it's clear that with the extremes you can't govern. When things get difficult, they run away."
Voters say they're not exactly shocked given the policy paralysis of the last year.
"Not surprising. No surprise at all. Because it has been a mess for all the period that they have had this government. So no surprise at all."
The political chaos coming at an embarrassing time with The Hague set to host the annual NATO leaders’ summit in just three weeks.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof will now be there in a caretaker capacity.
