The former ruling party VVD said immediately after the November 22 election that a government collaboration with Wilder’s PVV (Freedom Party) was unthinkable.
One reason was that VVD made a disastrous election with a new party leader. The party fell from 34 to 24 seats in the 150-member parliament.
The latest setback for Wilders came when the newly formed conservative NSC party on Wednesday closed the door on cooperation.
“On the whole, the NSC sees no basis for starting talks with the PVV about forming a majority or minority government,” wrote party leader Pieter Omtzigt as an explanation for the decision.
The NSC won 20 seats in parliament.
He explained that the PVV’s election manifesto “contains views that, in our opinion, conflict with our constitution, and we draw a clear line there”.
The only hope is a coalition
Far-right leader and xenophobic Wilder’s party needs 76 of the 150 seats in parliament to form a government. Despite more than doubling to 37 seats in parliament, his only hope lay in a coalition.
Remaining, among other things, are the rural populist BBB with seven seats in parliament. Additional far-right parties could collect another nine seats – which is not enough to get a majority.
An alliance between the social democratic PVDA and the environmental party GL refuses any contact with Wilders.