Wilders unlikely to enter government

The possibilty of a right-wing coalition government that includes the populist and Islamaphobic party led by Geert Wilders, which came third in general elections in the Netherlands, now appears more and more remote, reports Trouw. A week after the elections, the queen's advisor tasked with mediating the formation of a new cabinet, Uri Rosenthal, has come to the conclusion that "a VVD [liberal], PVV [Wilders party] and CDA [Christian democrat] coalition will not be." The leader of the CDA, Maxime Verhagen, had made his participation in negotiations conditional on an outline agreement between the VDD and the PVV, the two major winners in the 9 June elections, on policies to be implemented by the future government. Wilders, who had his heart set on a cabinet post, has accused the Christian democrats of sabotaging the coalition before it could be formed. Rosenthal is now examining the possiblity of a "purple" coalition, which would bring together liberal, Labour, liberal-democrat and Green politicians.