Wilders’s Anti-Islam Party Holds Key in Dutch Cabinet
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Geert Wilders, whose anti-immigrant party more than doubled its vote in June’s elections, forced his way to the center of Dutch politics by agreeing to back a minority government of Liberals and Christian Democrats.
Wilders and his 23 fellow lawmakers in the Freedom Party intend to support a Cabinet led by Liberal Mark Rutte under a preliminary deal reached July 30, giving it the smallest possible majority in the 150-seat lower house of parliament. Wilders agreed to an 18 billion-euro ($23 billion) budget cut, in exchange for measures to control immigration and crack down on crime.