Thursday, June 5

The government of the Netherlands has collapsed after right-wing leader Geert Wilders withdrew his party from a major coalition. 

Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who was an independent candidate unaffiliated with any party, has run the Dutch government for almost a year on a four-party coalition government. He was elected on July 2, 2024, but was forced to form a large coalition between multiple parties.

This coalition consisted of the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the center-right New Social Contract (NSC), the right-wing Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), and the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV), which gave them a majority over the Dutch Parliament.

However, PVV leader Geert Wilders decided to pull out of the coalition on Tuesday after the rest of the group refused to approve his ideas, sending the Dutch government into chaos. 

Now, they stand without a functioning Parliament, and Prime Minister Dick Schoof has resigned from his position. The interim government will be unable to pass major legislation until the next elections, which are not expected to happen for quite some time– the earliest that they could occur is in early fall, as the Dutch Parliament will take a recess from July 4 to September 1. These elections will re-elect all 150 seats in the Parliament, possibly changing up the entire Dutch government.

Fact of the Day (BBC): You remember more dreams when you sleep badly. Research suggests that if you sleep badly and wake up multiple times throughout the night you will be more likely to recall the content of any dreams you had. You are also more likely to remember a dream when woken from one.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not. (Denis Waitley)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Bogus (adj, BOH-gus) - Bogus is an informal word used to describe something that is not real or genuine, making it a synonym of such words as fake, false, and counterfeit.

In a Sentence: We were disappointed to find out that the purses we bought were bogus.