![In the Netherlands, a new anti-immigration government In the Netherlands, a new anti-immigration government](https://media.lesechos.com/api/v1/images/view/6645dc2c3131ed0cc770c496/1280x720/01101114084801-web-tete.jpg)
The Netherlands has the most right-wing government in its history. Nearly six months after the surprise victory of the far-right PVV party in the legislative elections, its leader Geert Wilders announced that a government agreement had been reached on Wednesday evening and finalized this Thursday morning.
Negotiations were long and difficult between the four Dutch right-wing parties forming the new coalition: the PVV (far right) of Wilders, the VVD (center right) of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who left politics to run for office. the post of Secretary General of NATO, the NSC (centrist) and the pro-farmer party BBB.
Ronald Plasterk tipped as Prime Minister
According to Dutch media, the new government could be led by Ronald Plasterk, 67, from the left-wing PvdA party. A microbiologist by training, he held the positions of Minister of Education between 2007 and 2010, then of the Interior from 2012 to 2017. Geert Wilders, for his part, gave up the post last March to advance the negotiations, as well as than the leaders of the other three parties.
For the first time member of a government, the Islamophobic and anti-immigration PVV leaves its mark on the new agreement. A tightening of the screws on the entry of foreigners is thus announced: “Concrete measures will be taken to move towards the strictest rules ever adopted in matters of asylum, and a package of measures ever taken to control migration. », stipulates the agreement unveiled Thursday.
“We will try to obtain what we call an opt-out (derogation from European rules, Editor’s note) for asylum, as the Danes did,” Geert Wilders told AFP, while acknowledging that “it could take years”.
Backtracking on Nitrogen
On the economic front, the coalition agreed on the cancellation of a 15% tax on share buybacks which should have come into force next year. The new government also plans the construction of two additional nuclear power plants, in addition to two already planned.
A look back on the sensitive subject of the use of nitrogen: the coalition is giving assurances to the agricultural world by announcing that it will abandon the measures taken by the previous government to restrict emissions.
In terms of foreign policy, the Ukrainians can be relieved: the text assures them of “political, military, financial and moral” support from The Hague, despite Geert Wilders’ reservations on the subject. The new coalition also speaks out against further enlargement of the European Union and plans to reduce the Dutch contribution to the European budget by 1.6 billion euros. Finally, the agreement provides for the possibility of transferring the Dutch embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.