On 23 January, the Dutch Senate approved a law on fair distribution of asylum seekers between Dutch municipalities. Over the past decade, only roughly half of Dutch municipalities have provided accommodations for asylum seekers. With 32,000 people currently housed in temporary shelters, the objective of the law is to tackle the lack of accommodation by granting the government authority to override municipalities’ refusal to accept asylum seekers. The Senate approved the law with 43 votes in favour, 27 against, and 5 abstentions. The law could be passed largely due to the support of the conservative-liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVP), the party of former prime minister Mark Rutte, even though Geert Wilders’ right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV), currently trying to form a government, voted against it.

Sources: Netherlands government, Dutch News (1), Dutch News (2), NL Times, RTL Nieuws

On 22 November, the country held early general elections to elect the members of the House of Representatives following the collapse of the fourth Rutte cabinet in July, triggered by immigration policy disagreements among the coalition partners. The right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV), led by Geert Wilders, secured 37 out of the 150-seats, becoming the largest party for the first time. All four parties of the incumbent coalition government experienced losses. With doubled support, PVV wants to focus on issues such as cost-of-living, an exit from the EU (Nexit), closing the borders to all immigration and to the “de-Islamisization” of the country. Voter turnout was 78 per cent, down from 81 per cent in 2017. Similar to the previous legislature, women will constitute 40 per cent of the parliament.

Sources: Kiesraad, RTL Nieuws, Dutch News, IPU, International IDEA

Following the Quran desecrations in Denmark and Sweden, the far-right Dutch Pegida leader, Edwin Wagensveld, tore up a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in The Hague. A counter-protest organised by the DENK political party to condemn Wagensveld’s actions took place simultaneously. Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz declared that she personally thinks the act is ‘primitive and sad,’ but added that it’s a freedom allowed in the country. The minister also cautioned that the act could lead to an increased terror threat, as seen in Sweden. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has summoned the Dutch deputy ambassador to condemn the act. Wagensveld has provoked protests in the past as well, when he tore up a copy of the Quran and referred to it as a “fascist book”, a remark for which he has yet to appear in court for hate speech.

Sources: NL Times, Euractiv, International IDEA (1), International IDEA (2) 

Mark Rutte, the longest-serving Prime Minister in the Netherlands, resigned on 8 July due to irreconcilable differences in opinion between the coalition parties on migration policy. Of the four parties in the 18-month-old coalition, Rutte’s Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Christian Democrats supported a stricter approach compared to D66 and the Christian Union (ChristenUnie). Specific issues debated included whether the rights of family members to join refugees should be restricted. A general election will be held in autumn. Until then, Rutte’s government will act in a caretaker capacity. The fragmented 20-party lower house, along with the rapid rise of the populist Farmer-Citizen Movement party in the March 2023 provincial elections, add another layer of uncertainty to the country’s political future. 

Sources: DutchNews, Euronews, New York Times, Guardian, NL Times 

Sigrid Kaag, the first female Finance Minister of the Netherlands and leader of the D66 party, announced on 13 July that she is stepping down from both positions. In her farewell speech, she cited “hate, intimidation and threats” as the reasons for her decision, adding that the situation took a large toll on her family. Kaag has been the target of misogyny and her family has been the target of racism. According to a 2021 study by Utrecht University and De Groene Amsterdammer, Kaag receives the most hate messages among all female MPs in the Dutch Parliament, with 22 per cent of her incoming tweets being hateful in nature. Kaag hopes that her move to step down “does not discourage Dutch girls and women from entering politics.” Independent MP Liane den Haan also announced her departure from politics due to hate messages. Both resignations come in the aftermath of the Dutch government collapse on 8 July. 

Sources: Politico, De Groene Amsterdammer, Euractiv, EUROMIX Research Project 

The caretaker cabinet has introduced a specific criminal prohibition of the condonement, trivialization and denial of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, with explicit reference to the Holocaust. The law punishes violations with a prison sentence of up to one year and implements a 2008 European Union Framework Decision seeking uniformity in national legislation on historical denialism. The importance of this ban is underlined by a rise in antisemitism in the Netherlands in recent years. A study published in January 2023 by the nonprofit Claims Conference revealed that almost a quarter of Dutch citizens born after 1980 believe that the Holocaust is a myth or that it has been greatly exaggerated. Before 1939, almost 150,000 Jews lived in the Netherlands, around 75 per cent of whom were murdered.  

Sources:  Government of the Netherlands, European Parliament, Claims Conference, Reuters, DutchNews