What Will Happen Next in Dutch Government Crisis?

Next Steps in the Dutch Government Crisis Following Coalition Collapse

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders triggered a government collapse in the Netherlands on Tuesday by pulling his nationalist PVV party out of the right-wing government coalition, which prompted the cabinet to resign. 

Here's a look at what will happen next:

NEW ELECTIONS

Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he would resign following Wilders' unexpected move, which left the coalition with only 51 seats in the 150-seat Lower House of Parliament.

After Schoof formally presents his resignation to Dutch King Willem-Alexander, the head of state, a new election is expected to be called. It is unlikely that the vote will be held before mid-October, based on previous election cycles.

Wilders' PVV won the last election in November 2023 with a surprisingly wide margin of 23% of the vote. Polls indicate he has lost some support since then, to about 20%, at par with the Labour/Green combination, the second-largest in parliament.

Political preferences in the Netherlands have shifted rapidly in recent years, making it almost impossible to predict the outcome of an election in October.

Wilders did not emerge as a likely winner of the previous election until a few days before that vote, and other right-wing parties that enjoyed sudden success in recent years have seen their gains disappear as quickly as they came.

CARETAKER GOVERNMENT

Schoof has already said that he and the remaining ministers of the other three coalition parties will stay in their positions to form a caretaker government until a new government is formed after an election.

In the fragmented Dutch political landscape it usually takes months for a coalition to form.

"As caretaker government we will do all we can in the interest of the people in this country, within the room granted to us by parliament. We have decisions to take that do not bear any delay," the outgoing prime minister said. 

In the coming days parliament is expected to set out which disputed topics the caretaker government cannot deal with and which they can still make decisions about. The Netherlands is expected to continue its political and military assistance to Ukraine as this enjoys wide political support.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Stephanie van den Berg; editing by Bernadette Baum and Mark Heinrich)