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| To Hold Off the Right, New Dutch Coalition Partly Embraces It | To Hold Off the Right, New Dutch Coalition Partly Embraces It |
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| THE HAGUE — The hard-fought defeat of the extreme right in Dutch parliamentary elections last spring has led one of the most progressive countries in Europe to embrace more conservative policies on immigration and national identity, as a way to fend off challenges from the right and forge a governing coalition. | THE HAGUE — The hard-fought defeat of the extreme right in Dutch parliamentary elections last spring has led one of the most progressive countries in Europe to embrace more conservative policies on immigration and national identity, as a way to fend off challenges from the right and forge a governing coalition. |
| The new government, led by the current prime minister Mark Rutte, was sworn in on Thursday after a record-breaking seven months of negotiations. It includes social conservatives from two Christian parties, a large pro-business bloc and a party with socially liberal credentials. The coalition holds power by just a one-vote margin, which suggests that the political stability of the Netherlands depends on the next four years being predictable, according to political scientists, consultants and former members of Parliament. | The new government, led by the current prime minister Mark Rutte, was sworn in on Thursday after a record-breaking seven months of negotiations. It includes social conservatives from two Christian parties, a large pro-business bloc and a party with socially liberal credentials. The coalition holds power by just a one-vote margin, which suggests that the political stability of the Netherlands depends on the next four years being predictable, according to political scientists, consultants and former members of Parliament. |
| If there is a national emergency, a financial downturn or some other unforeseeable event, it is far from clear that the coalition can hold, since little binds the parties together but a desire to have a say in governing — and to keep the extreme-right Party for Freedom, led by the anti-immigrant populist Geert Wilders, out of power. | If there is a national emergency, a financial downturn or some other unforeseeable event, it is far from clear that the coalition can hold, since little binds the parties together but a desire to have a say in governing — and to keep the extreme-right Party for Freedom, led by the anti-immigrant populist Geert Wilders, out of power. |
| “Every party got a few points in,” said Ronald Kroeze, a political scientist and historian at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. “But there’s no underlying vision.” | “Every party got a few points in,” said Ronald Kroeze, a political scientist and historian at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. “But there’s no underlying vision.” |
| The Netherlands’ move to the right is in keeping with a trend across Europe, as mainstream conservative and center-left forces unite to try to keep extreme-right parties from gaining the levers of power. France moved to the right after its June election, and Germany is expected to follow suit once it forms a government. In Eastern Europe as well as in Austria, far-right forces have won elections. | The Netherlands’ move to the right is in keeping with a trend across Europe, as mainstream conservative and center-left forces unite to try to keep extreme-right parties from gaining the levers of power. France moved to the right after its June election, and Germany is expected to follow suit once it forms a government. In Eastern Europe as well as in Austria, far-right forces have won elections. |
| The new Dutch coalition is dominated by Mr. Rutte’s business-friendly People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and a Christian party that has become increasingly nationalist, but it also includes a sizable center-left party and a smaller Christian party that represents a mostly rural constituency. | The new Dutch coalition is dominated by Mr. Rutte’s business-friendly People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and a Christian party that has become increasingly nationalist, but it also includes a sizable center-left party and a smaller Christian party that represents a mostly rural constituency. |
| The coalition has embraced some of the far right’s ideas, like stronger limits on immigration and an increased focus on inculcating Dutch identity. | The coalition has embraced some of the far right’s ideas, like stronger limits on immigration and an increased focus on inculcating Dutch identity. |
| But it is also committed to lowering taxes for business and the middle class and increasing the value added tax from 6 percent to 9 percent, which will hit the poor hardest — measures that Mr. Wilders has rejected because they are likely to have an outsized impact on working-class voters. | But it is also committed to lowering taxes for business and the middle class and increasing the value added tax from 6 percent to 9 percent, which will hit the poor hardest — measures that Mr. Wilders has rejected because they are likely to have an outsized impact on working-class voters. |
| And in a clear rejection of Mr. Wilders’s opposition to the European Union, the new coalition describes the Netherlands as “inseparable” from the bloc. | And in a clear rejection of Mr. Wilders’s opposition to the European Union, the new coalition describes the Netherlands as “inseparable” from the bloc. |
| The deal holding it all together has been compiled in a 70-page, single-spaced coalition agreement. It includes a detailed description of restrictions on immigration, as well as business stimulus proposals and a paean to the importance of instilling Dutch identity in children and immigrants. Children will now have to learn and sing the national anthem at school, lawmakers said. | The deal holding it all together has been compiled in a 70-page, single-spaced coalition agreement. It includes a detailed description of restrictions on immigration, as well as business stimulus proposals and a paean to the importance of instilling Dutch identity in children and immigrants. Children will now have to learn and sing the national anthem at school, lawmakers said. |
| The deal was further cemented by doling out ministries to every party in the coalition, with some ministries now getting two ministers — one from one party and one from another. | The deal was further cemented by doling out ministries to every party in the coalition, with some ministries now getting two ministers — one from one party and one from another. |
| Whether such an approach will last is not clear, said Ton Elias, a former member of the leadership of Mr. Rutte’s party, which has the largest share of seats. While every member of the coalition got something, it was formed “behind closed doors over the last seven months, not under democratic control, not seen by the press,” so it is hard to gauge the new government’s durability, Mr. Elias said. | Whether such an approach will last is not clear, said Ton Elias, a former member of the leadership of Mr. Rutte’s party, which has the largest share of seats. While every member of the coalition got something, it was formed “behind closed doors over the last seven months, not under democratic control, not seen by the press,” so it is hard to gauge the new government’s durability, Mr. Elias said. |
| “It could last for the four years or it could fall down like a pudding,” he added. | “It could last for the four years or it could fall down like a pudding,” he added. |
| Leaders of left-leaning opposition parties were quick to denounce the agreement as a move to the right that failed to respond to Dutch people’s needs. | Leaders of left-leaning opposition parties were quick to denounce the agreement as a move to the right that failed to respond to Dutch people’s needs. |
| “With this coalition agreement the Netherlands is getting a right-wing government that will lead to more inequality,” said Jesse Klaver, the leader of the Green Party. | “With this coalition agreement the Netherlands is getting a right-wing government that will lead to more inequality,” said Jesse Klaver, the leader of the Green Party. |
| The document makes it clear that Mr. Wilders’s focus on a sense of insecurity among many in the Netherlands, driven by immigration, has been adopted by politicians across the spectrum, with the exception of opposition parties on the left. | |
| “Many people feel their own neighborhoods have become unrecognizable and are no longer a safe place to come home to,” the agreement’s introductory section reads. “Some even experience a feeling of alienation. Some no longer feel at home in their own neighborhoods because newcomers are not fully integrated.” | “Many people feel their own neighborhoods have become unrecognizable and are no longer a safe place to come home to,” the agreement’s introductory section reads. “Some even experience a feeling of alienation. Some no longer feel at home in their own neighborhoods because newcomers are not fully integrated.” |
| The coalition’s call for “Dutchness” to be instilled is perhaps more symbolic than concrete, but it suggests a cultural shift that embraces nationalism over a more cosmopolitan worldview, said Sarah de Lange, a professor of political science at the University of Amsterdam. | The coalition’s call for “Dutchness” to be instilled is perhaps more symbolic than concrete, but it suggests a cultural shift that embraces nationalism over a more cosmopolitan worldview, said Sarah de Lange, a professor of political science at the University of Amsterdam. |
| “The agreement has a very high number of symbolic measures,” she said. “They reflect the debate we’ve been having about national identity over the last 10 years since Wilders first ran in 2006” as leader of the Party for Freedom. | “The agreement has a very high number of symbolic measures,” she said. “They reflect the debate we’ve been having about national identity over the last 10 years since Wilders first ran in 2006” as leader of the Party for Freedom. |
| The biggest substantive changes in the area of immigration include shortening the asylum screening process to eight days, so that applicants can be sent home quickly if their applications are rejected; reducing some of the social support that goes to immigrants; and tightening border controls. | The biggest substantive changes in the area of immigration include shortening the asylum screening process to eight days, so that applicants can be sent home quickly if their applications are rejected; reducing some of the social support that goes to immigrants; and tightening border controls. |
| Much as France has done, the Netherlands will push for deals with countries in the Middle East aimed at discouraging refugees from crossing into Europe, according to the agreement. The document specifically names Jordan and Lebanon as places where the Netherlands will increase its support for refugees. | Much as France has done, the Netherlands will push for deals with countries in the Middle East aimed at discouraging refugees from crossing into Europe, according to the agreement. The document specifically names Jordan and Lebanon as places where the Netherlands will increase its support for refugees. |
| Yet in an effort to reassure the left-leaning members of the coalition, the agreement also notes that the Netherlands will continue to accept refugees and will take more in the coming years, in line with the United Nations refugee agency’s resettlement quota. | Yet in an effort to reassure the left-leaning members of the coalition, the agreement also notes that the Netherlands will continue to accept refugees and will take more in the coming years, in line with the United Nations refugee agency’s resettlement quota. |
| That was far from enough for leftist leaders like Mr. Klaver, who have been outspoken supporters of immigration and programs to help older people and the poor, among others. | That was far from enough for leftist leaders like Mr. Klaver, who have been outspoken supporters of immigration and programs to help older people and the poor, among others. |
| While the new coalition’s durability is in doubt, it will benefit from the fractured nature of the parliamentary opposition, which includes nine parties — most of them on the far left, with the exception of Mr. Wilders’s party and another small far-right group. | While the new coalition’s durability is in doubt, it will benefit from the fractured nature of the parliamentary opposition, which includes nine parties — most of them on the far left, with the exception of Mr. Wilders’s party and another small far-right group. |
| The leftist parties, led by the Green Party, lost their best issue when the new coalition announced its full-throated commitment to making the Netherlands “a sustainable country.” | The leftist parties, led by the Green Party, lost their best issue when the new coalition announced its full-throated commitment to making the Netherlands “a sustainable country.” |
| Though a strong stand on climate may be seen as left-leaning in some countries, in the Netherlands it has become a national mantra, with bicycles more prevalent than cars in many places. Some of the country lies below sea level, and for centuries it has battled deadly floods. It also has an abundance of wind energy because of its perch on the North Sea, and so it has much to gain by investing in sustainable technology, seeing an opening to become a European leader in that field. | Though a strong stand on climate may be seen as left-leaning in some countries, in the Netherlands it has become a national mantra, with bicycles more prevalent than cars in many places. Some of the country lies below sea level, and for centuries it has battled deadly floods. It also has an abundance of wind energy because of its perch on the North Sea, and so it has much to gain by investing in sustainable technology, seeing an opening to become a European leader in that field. |
| As if to underscore that point, when the coalition agreement was finally reached, Mr. Rutte bicycled to the palace of King Willem-Alexander to formally deliver the news. | As if to underscore that point, when the coalition agreement was finally reached, Mr. Rutte bicycled to the palace of King Willem-Alexander to formally deliver the news. |