By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
THE HAGUE (Worthy News) – Former Dutch intelligence chief and political outsider Dick Schoof was appointed as prime minister Tuesday for a coalition cabinet dominated by the anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV).
Schoof, 67, said he would be the leader of all Dutch people, including those of different backgrounds.
The coalition is also made up of the center-right People’s Party for Freedom (VVD) and Democracy, the centrist New Social Contract (NSC), and the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB).
“I am not affiliated with any party, and l am not standing here in the name of the PVV… I want to be the prime minister of all the Dutch,” Schoof, who has had no previous experience in parliament or government, told reporters.
He has been the senior official at the Dutch Ministry of Justice after leading the intelligence agency AIVD and antiterrorism agency NCTV for years.
He was the head of the Dutch immigration service in the early 2000s. “I guess it will be a surprise for a lot of people that I’m standing here… It’s actually also a surprise for me,” he admitted to the assembled media.
STRICTEST REGIME
In its governing plan published on May 16, the coalition said it would aim for the “strictest-ever asylum regime” with more robust border controls and harsher rules for asylum seekers.
It comes amid mounting concerns about rising antisemitism in the Netherlands that the PVV and its supporters say have been primarily seen among people from Islamic nations.
Opposition party DENK (Think) has strongly condemned those assertions, pointing to sports stadiums where thousands have shouted antisemitic slogans.
Additionally, there has been concern that the Netherlands has been overwhelmed by migrants fleeing war, persecution, and poverty, including from Islamic countries as well as Ukraine, with little housing available for Dutch nationals.
Critics say stricter migration policies will lead to a potential clash with the European Union even before taking office.
The government is also expected to raise questions about the EU’s climate and natural habitat goals as concerns arise about their impact on Dutch farmers and fishermen.
TROUBLED WATERS
Yet sources knowing Schoof said they believe he would be able to lead the cabinet and be the bridge through troubled political waters. “It seems like a reasonable guy to me. I think he is the kind of prime minister-designate minister to whom ministers will say “yes” more quickly,” said an adviser who worked closely with him on reforms in national police.
“He will stick to the rules, so limiting the risk that the government will do things that are not allowed [but the EU or elsewhere],” the person added to Worthy News.
Schoof will head a cabinet that the four parties have said would have closer ties with parliament, which will have more say over its policies.
However, it could take weeks to assemble, with the parties negotiating the portfolios and responsibilities.
Once he has formed a government set to be the most right-wing in the Netherlands in decades, he will be sworn in by the king and officially become prime minister.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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