Dick Schoof Elected as New Prime Minister of Netherlands

Tags: International News

Dick Schoof, former head of the Dutch intelligence agency and counterterrorism office, is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of the Netherlands by King Willem-Alexander.

An Overview of the News

• The Netherlands has a new Prime Minister for the first time in 14 years.

• The new government was sworn in seven months after the far-right Party for Freedom won the largest share of seats in the elections.

• First non-party-aligned PM since World War II.

Formation of Government:

• Took 223 days to form a government after elections.

• The elections were dominated by Geert Wilders’ far-right, anti-Islam Party for Freedom.

• Wilders’ party won the largest share of seats but did not secure the PM position due to opposition from coalition partners.

Coalition Parties:

• Party for Freedom (Geert Wilders).

• People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (Mark Rutte’s center-right party).

• Farmer Citizen Movement (populist party).

• New Social Contract (centrist party).

Government Agenda:

• Coalition agreement titled “Hope, courage and pride.”

• Strict measures on asylum-seekers.

• Scrapping of family reunification for refugees.

• Reduction in the number of international students.

Controversies and Negotiations:

• Wilders backpedaled on extreme views, including banning mosques, Islamic schools, and the Quran.

• Ronald Plasterk, Wilders’ first choice for PM, withdrew due to allegations of medical patent fraud.

Cabinet Ministers:

• 15 other ministers installed alongside PM Schoof.

• Femke Wiersma, agriculture minister, made her declaration in Frisian.

About Netherlands

• The Netherlands, also known as Holland, is a country located in northwestern Europe.

• Monarch: King Willem-Alexander

• Prime Minister: Dick Schoof

• Capital: Amsterdam

• Currency: euro