The agreement of the extreme right and center-right parties for the next Dutch Executive proposes lowering taxes, cutting unemployment benefits and studying the transfer of the embassy in Israel to JerusalemThe ultra Geert Wilders and the leaders of the other three parties that have reached a provisional government agreement in the Netherlands yesterday presented the 26 pages on which the pact reached on Wednesday is based and assessed its scope. After almost six months of complex negotiations, the four parties have agreed to lower taxes , cut benefits to reduce public spending, reduce administrative spending, lower the allocation for development aid to third countries and approve ” the most restrictive asylum policy in history “, in the words of Wilders , who was the winner of the elections on November 22.
The imprint of Wilders’ party, which until the elections defended several almost anti-establishment measures, can be seen in the very hard line imposed on immigration policies, as well as in some social cuts. In fact, Wilders won the November elections by a landslide (37 seats compared to 25 for the second most voted party). And most polls today give him many more seats thanks to the visibility gained in the negotiations with the center-right .
It was precisely immigration and asylum policies that blew up the previous Government led by Mark Rutte last summer . Immigration , along with growing insecurity and housing , is one of the main challenges that the future Executive will face , which will probably have a strong technocratic character .
Last March, Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), took a step back and resigned from leading the Government since the other parties rejected him being the future prime minister due to his past radical proposals, despite the fact that he won the elections with 37 seats. The other three leaders of the People’s Party for Freedom (VVD), the New Social Contract (NSC) and the Citizen-Farmer Movement (BBB) also pledged not to be part of the Executive.
Regarding asylum , the document indicates that the new Government “will approve concrete measures to apply the toughest measures ” and will adopt a global package that will allow “immigration control.” The four parties have agreed to ask the European Commission that the Netherlands can dispense “as soon as possible” with the common rules on asylum policy, as Denmark has already done , which is technically called an “exclusion clause” in this matter.
However, Geert Wilders himself acknowledged in statements to AFP that this repeal, which another neighboring country already enjoys, “will take years.” “We will try to achieve the so-called exclusion clause on asylum, like the one the Danes have. But it could take years to achieve it,” said the ultra leader.
Before obtaining this European exception, Wilders insisted that in the short term, the new Conservative Government will use existing legislation in the EU and in his country to restrict as much as possible what he called “an excessive flow of asylum seekers.”
“What we have in our agreement is really the toughest anti-asylum policy ever applied in the Netherlands ,” said the PVV leader, who promises to apply border controls to prevent the arrivals of asylum seekers and the immediate expulsion of those who do not. have a valid residence permit, “by force if necessary,” adds the government program, or cut back on family reunifications.
In foreign policy, the ultra Wilders renounces his previous Euroscepticism – he even defended a referendum to leave the EU – by recognizing the vocation of the Netherlands as “a constructive partner of the European Union .” The document is also “very critical of further expansion of the EU”, which could cause The Hague to raise objections to the upcoming and planned expansion of the Union towards the East.
The parties that will make up the coalition commit to supporting Ukraine “politically, militarily, financially and morally.” Likewise, it reaffirms ” Israel ‘s right to existence and security ” in the middle of the war in the Middle East and undertakes to study the possible transfer of the Netherlands embassy in this country from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Most governments in the world have their embassies in Tel Aviv, but Israelis consider Jerusalem their “eternal and indivisible” capital.
For this reason, some national executives have carried out this transfer – such as that of Donald Trump in the United States – as a gesture of support for the hardest Israeli line. The new president of Argentina , Javier Milei , has promised to do the same thing, which has a special significance in the midst of the war against Hamas .
The Government agreement also contains liberal measures, such as a reduction in taxes on average incomes with the creation of a new section of the Dutch personal income tax. This reduction would mean a drop in collection of 2,000 million euros per year. The future Executive also wants to cut gas taxes and extend the reduction in fuel rates until 2025.
The document includes some specific increases in direct taxes, such as VAT on overnight stays in hotels or VAT on culture.
Finally, the future Government contemplates important cuts that amount to a net annual savings of 4.7 billion , according to the document. Among the most significant decreases, a reduction of 2.4 billion euros in development cooperation or a reduction in unemployment benefits from the current two years to a year and a half stands out.
In energy policy, the four parties are committed to building four new nuclear power plants and achieving greater energy independence from abroad , as well as greater production of sustainable energy. Of course, among the cuts in this matter, they will eliminate subsidies for the purchase of electric cars .
An elated Wilders described the agreement reached – of which some fundamental aspects are still unknown – as “a historic milestone.” “Today we are making history, together as four parties, but also the PVV, my own formation, because it will enter the Government, at the center of power. We went from being the largest opposition party to the largest ruling party. The sun will shine again in the Netherlands .”
The four parties that have reached this pre-agreement have 88 deputies of the 150 that make up the Parliament of The Hague . The PVV won the elections with 37. The liberals of the VVD (the formation of the outgoing Prime Minister, Mark Rutte) have 24, the center-right of the NSC got 20 deputies and the formation of farmers and ranchers, seven seats.
The opposition is led by the coalition of Social Democrats and Greens led by former Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans , who led the second most voted candidacy, with 25 deputies.