Holland | Dick Schoof, who supports a strict immigration line, was appointed prime minister

Holland’s king Willem-Alexander has appointed a new board and by Dick Schoof as the country’s new prime minister.

Schoof takes over as Prime Minister of the Netherlands after 14 years Mark Rutten successor. The NATO Council appointed Rutte as the next Secretary General of the military alliance last week.

“I am looking forward to starting work as Prime Minister. For a safe and fair Holland, where livelihood is secured for everyone. Immigration must be brought under control, discussions must be continued, choices must be made, and they must be made clearly, and that is what I am fighting for. You can trust me,” Schoof said message service in X.

in Holland the parliamentary elections were already held in November of last year, but the agreement on the formation of the government was only reached in May, half a year after the elections.

Geert Wilders led by the right-wing populist Freedom Party (PVV) unexpectedly won the Dutch parliamentary elections in the fall. However, Wilders later announced that he would not become prime minister due to insufficient support.

Wilders’ Freedom Party is known for its strict stances against immigration, Islam and the EU. In the party program, for example, it is required that mosques and of the Koran declaring them illegal and holding a referendum on EU membership. Many parties announce that they will not enter a government with Wilders as prime minister.

Schoof now leads a right-wing coalition government, which includes different ideologies and personal conflicts. Four of the coalition partners do not sit in the government, but they agreed among themselves on Schoof’s prime ministership.

According to AFP Schoof has promised “the strictest asylum-seeker reception policy ever and the most comprehensive package to control immigration”. Schoof has said that he is neutral as prime minister and does not intend to humiliate the positions of the right-wing populist Wilders.

Schoof previously served as the head of the Dutch intelligence service, and he played a key role in several crisis situations. Among other things, he led the Dutch investigation into the shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane in Donbas, Ukraine in 2014. 298 people died in the crash of flight MH17, of which 196 were Dutch.

A Dutch court sentenced two Russians and one Ukrainian for the murders of airline passengers in 2022.