Four right-wing parties in the Netherlands said on Wednesday that they had reached a preliminary agreement to form a government that would exclude Geert Wilders, a populist politician, from becoming prime minister.
But the chances of forming a government were high, and the parties’ leaders expressed optimism.
“This won’t go wrong,” Caroline van der Plas, the leader of the Farmer Citizen Movement, a populist pro-farmer party, told reporters on Wednesday.
In response, Mr. Wilders posted two prayer hands and a sun emoji on the social media platform X.
The agreement would still largely depend on Mr. Wilders’s party, Party for Freedom, which won elections decisively last fall, sending shock waves through the Dutch political system.
Persons:
Geert Wilders, Caroline van der Plas, Wilders
Organizations:
Farmer Citizen Movement, Party for Freedom
Locations:
Netherlands