Following the collapse of the ruling government and the resignation of Prime Minister Dick Schoof, the Netherlands will hold snap election on October 29, 2025.
Interior Minister Judith Uitermark announced the election date and said that she would coordinate with municipalities to ensure a smooth voting process.
The snap election was announced less than a year after the Dutch four-party coalition was formed.
Schoof’s 11-month-old administration goes down in history as one of the shortest-lived governments in Dutch political history.
Polls indicate a close race between the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), led by firebrand Geert Wilders, and the Labour/Green Left alliance, headed by former European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans.
The centre-right VVD is trailing slightly behind, suggesting a tightly contested vote.
The election triggered by the dramatic collapse of the right-wing ruling coalition, was called after Wilders withdrew the PVV from the governing coalition in a dispute over immigration policy, pushing Schoof and his cabinet to resign.
Wilders had accused the government of dragging its feet on implementing what was intended to be the “strictest-ever” immigration policy agreed by the four-way coalition.
His decision to bring down the coalition prompted a backlash from partners, who accused him of acting out of self-interest. “I’m shocked,” leader of the right-wing People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Dilan Yesilgöz told reporters, calling the decision “super irresponsible.”
“The Prime Minister who appealed to us this morning said that we are facing enormous international challenges, we have a war on our continent, an economic crisis may be coming our way.”
Dilan Yesilgöz
Wilders’ PVV stunned the political establishment in November 2023 by winning 37 of the 150 seats in parliament – emerging as the largest party by a strong margin.
To govern, he assembled a four-party coalition with the VVD, the farmers’ BBB party and the anticorruption NSC – but the price was to give up his ambition to become Prime Minister.
Polling as of May 31, 2025, shows the PVV’s support has dipped slightly – from 23 percent at the time of the 2023 election to 20 percent.
The Labour/Green Left alliance follows closely with 19 percent and currently holds 25 seats in the lower house of parliament, second only to the PVV.
The fragmented political landscape makes the outcome difficult to predict.
Schoof To Continue Caretaker Role
In the meantime, Dick Schoof has said that he and his cabinet will continue in a caretaker role until a new government is formed.
The national Electoral Council had advised on a October 29 election earlier this week. An earlier election would have been hard to pull off due to a parliamentary recess that begins on 4 July and lasts until 1 September, followed by several weeks of campaigning.
It means Schoof will lead a caretaker government when his country hosts the NATO summit in The Hague in a few weeks.
Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said that the government remains committed to hosting the meeting despite political turmoil.
In a statement to lawmakers, Schoof noted that he wants to maintain control, even in caretaker mode, over vital policies in the coming months.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s about security, both nationally and internationally, including support for Ukraine and everything that’s needed for defense.”
Dick Schoof
He also wants to be able to act on the economy, including the global trade war unleashed since the start of US President Donald Trump’s second term, “because that can have a direct effect on the Dutch economy and on our business community.”
READ ALSO: New Energy Levy Sparks Debate, But ADI Backs Government’s Strategy
