Negotiations to form a coalition government in the Netherlands following Geert Wilders’ surprise election victory fell into disarray this Monday, when the man responsible for overseeing the negotiations resigned.
The far-right mediator came under heavy criticism last weekend when allegations of fraud at his former company emerged in the Dutch media.
The ‘busyness’ surrounding the reports and the time needed to respond appropriately ‘does not fit with my work as a mediator’, according to Gom van Strien. “I have therefore told Geert Wilders and the speaker of parliament that I will resign from my role as mediator with immediate effect,” said Van Strien.
Van Strien, a senator from Wilders’ PVV party, was due to start the formal task of forming a coalition on Monday, meeting the party leadership, starting with Wilders himself. The meetings were later canceled.
Wilders already faces an uphill battle to convince other parties to work with him, given his strident anti-Islam, anti-immigration and anti-European positions.
Although the tone was somewhat moderated during the election campaign, the PVV manifesto calls for a ban on mosques, the Quran and headscarves, as well as a referendum on leaving the EU.
Source: DN
