Wilders isolated as Dutch election sniping starts

THE HAGUE

Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), arrives for the weekly coalition talks in the Lower House in The Hague, the Netherlands, 03 June 2025.

The chances of Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders becoming prime minister dropped on Tuesday after a key potential coalition party ruled out working with him, calling him an "incredibly unreliable partner".

Wilders last week stunned the political establishment in the Netherlands by bringing down a fragile four-way coalition in a row over immigration.

Fresh elections are now set for Oct. 29, with Wilders hoping to repeat his shock success from November 2023 when his far-right Freedom Party (PVV) came out on top.

But the fragmented nature of Dutch politics means parties need to find two or even three coalition partners to form a government.

Wilders's largest coalition partner after the November vote was the liberal VVD, but party leader Dilan Yeşilgöz launched a fierce broadside against her former colleague.

"This country needs mature leadership. We will no longer work with him," Yeşilgöz said in an interview with De Telegraaf daily.

"He puts his personal self-interest above the national interest. He will never take responsibility for the country," added Yeşilgöz.

Latest opinion polls suggest a close three-way race between the PVV, the VVD, and a Green/Left grouping led by former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.

Wilders lashed out on X, formerly Twitter, saying that Yeşilgöz "wanted to destroy the Netherlands, along with the left".

"That means even more asylum-seekers and Islam," added Wilders.

De Telegraaf wrote: "Now that the VVD is also slamming shut the door, a government with Wilders's party is moving further out of sight."

"Looking at the current polls, there are too few parties available to form a majority cabinet that have not previously declared the PVV taboo."