THE HAGUE — A new Dutch minority government that could be formed as early as next week is planning to slash immigration and ban face-covering burqas, anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders said yesterday.
The proposed new administration is a coalition between the Liberal VVD party led by future Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the Christian Democratic Alliance. The two parties, which have 52 seats in the 150-seat parliament, will rely on support from Wilders’s Freedom Party.
The deal has aroused objections from some Christian Democrat lawmakers who do not want to work with Wilders. A Christian Democrat party convention tomorrow will decide whether to go ahead with the planned four-year alliance.
However, while Wilders has the toughest anti-immigrant views, both the VVD and Christian Democrats pledged before the elections to crack down on new arrivals, and the last Christian Democrat-led government also wanted to ban burqas.
The policy blueprint unveiled yesterday came after months of negotiations following inconclusive June 9 national elections.
The government said it plans to make it harder for immigrants already living in the Netherlands to bring other family members here and also would make it tougher for unskilled immigrants to enter the country.
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