Snap elections in the Netherlands set for October 29th
By Marina Yan
Edited by Laura Torres
Today on October 29th 2025, the Netherlands faces yet another snap election, following Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV)’s departure from the coalition on June 3rd earlier this year. This was due to immigration disagreements, which ultimately led to the collapse of the Schoof cabinet, one of the shortest governments in Dutch history.
In 2023, in the general elections Wilders’ PVV claimed a massive, surprising victory, winning 37 out of the 150-seat House of Representatives. This was recorded as the largest far-right win in Dutch history.
However, Wilders, labeled the “Dutch Donald Trump,” must form a coalition before he can take power, as Dutch laws require at least 76 seats to form a government. This was challenging as mainstream parties such as the GreenLeft-Labour (GroenLinks–PvdA) vowed to defend Dutch democracy, and so were cautious to associate with the anti-immigration, anti-islam, euroskeptic party.
The formation lasted 175 days and was completed only after Wilders dropped his initiative for PM as well as his more extreme-right policies. The Schoof cabinet was formally created on July 2nd, 2024, consisting of the PVV, the centre-right conservative-liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the centre to centre-right Christian-democratic New Social Contract (NSC), and the right-wing agrarian Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB). The former former domestic intelligence chief Dick Schoof was assigned as PM.
Nevertheless, this coalition has been characterized by infighting ever since the beginning. Fights between coalition parties often occurred over issues regarding asylums, housing, Israel, containing nitrogen level, and more. According to sources close to the government, cabinet meetings devolved into screaming matches.
Thus, the withdrawal of the PVV after the rejection of Wilders’ 10-point plan on migration was simply the last straw. Increasingly frustrated by the cabinet’s unwillingness to embrace his promised “strictest asylum policy in Europe,” “the PVV leaves the coalition,” Wilders wrote in an X post.
The reaction to this exit from politicians, such as Dick Schoof, largely deemed it as unnecessary and irresponsible. Others critiqued it as engineered, with VVD leader Dilan Yeşilgöz claiming it “wasn’t about asylum at all.” Armida van Rij, the Head of the Europe Programme at Chatham House, a UK based international affairs think tank, shared similar sentiments, asserting that as the support for the PVV continuously dropped, Wilders wanted the government to collapse. The calculation is, if he can turn a snap election into a referendum on immigration and asylum, he can use the same populist, nationalistic strategy they used the first time in order to regain popularity.
As the important date of October 29th approaches, observing Politico’s projected seat share in the Dutch parliament for each party, as of October 3, the PVV is still in the lead, rising in numbers. In fact, though the social-democratic centre-left to left-wing, Groenlinks-PvdA remains a stable second or third, if not overtaken by the Christian Democratic Appeal, a centre to centre-right conservative party which is gaining popularity.
Only time will tell how this election will end. But as of right now, the VVD, NSC, and other politicians have all pledged to not work with the PVV again. With Wilders’ new enemies, the formation of the next cabinet seems to be more difficult than the last. Will he be able to win the election? Or is all hope lost for him?
Works Cited
Corder, Mike, and Raf Casert. "In a Shock for Europe, Anti-Islam Populist Geert Wilders Records a Massive Win in Dutch Elections." AP News, 23 Nov. 2023, apnews.com/article/netherlands-election-candidates-prime-minister-f31f57a856f006ff0f2fc4984acaca6b. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
Gozzi, Laura, and Anna Holligan. "Dutch Government Collapses after Far-right Leader Exits Coalition." BBC, 3 June 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0r1x5yyd5wo. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
"Infighting Again Has Schoof I Cabinet on Shaky Ground." NL Times, 28 Mar. 2025, nltimes.nl/2025/03/28/infighting-schoof-cabinet-shaky-ground. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
"Netherlands — 2025 General Election." Politico, www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/netherlands/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025. Chart.
Walker, Ali, and Hanne Cokelaere. "Dutch Snap Election Set for Oct. 29." Politico, 6 June 2025, www.politico.eu/article/netherlands-snap-election-geert-wilders/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
