Dilan Yesilgöz, the leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) in the Netherlands, has ruled out any future cooperation with Geert Wilders and the nationalist PVV, prompting accusations that she is preparing to align the VVD with the left in order to block Wilders from entering government again.
Her remarks, published on Monday in De Telegraaf, have ignited a storm within her own party and across the political right.
“Geert Wilders has proven to be an incredibly unreliable partner,” said Yesilgöz of the Netherlands’ legacy center-right party. “This country needs mature leadership. We are not going to work with him anymore.”
The announcement comes just days after Wilders withdrew the PVV from the most recent coalition, claiming other parties had refused to adopt his hardline asylum policy demands.
🇳🇱🗣️ “I signed up for the strictest asylum policy ever, not the downfall of the Netherlands.”@GeertWildersPVV speaks out after withdrawing his ministers from the Dutch coalition government. pic.twitter.com/ZPZvnkPcoX
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 3, 2025
“Wilders has walked away for the second time,” she said, referencing his decision to bring down the first Rutte cabinet in 2012. “It was irresponsible and totally unreliable.”
Responding to Yesilgöz on X, Wilders accused the VVD leader of betraying her voters and handing power to the left.
“Yesilgöz’s VVD therefore chooses GroenLinks/PvdA of Frans Timmermans,” he wrote. “Together with the left, she wants to destroy the Netherlands. That means many more asylum seekers and Islam. But the voter decides. So, make the PVV the largest party so that no one can.”
Critics, including some inside the VVD, according to De Telegraaf, say Yesilgöz’s move may backfire by making a PVV vote more appealing to right-wing voters, since the idea that such votes are “wasted” now appears less credible. It could also once again make Wilders’ party the attractive outlier away from the mainstream parties ahead of new elections.
Yesilgöz acknowledged that many VVD supporters are angry about the collapse, but insisted she had consulted party officials. “None of them said Wilders deserved another chance,” she said. “From day one, he showed he couldn’t and wouldn’t take responsibility. He puts personal interest above the national interest.”
The VVD leader emphasized that she still opposes a cabinet dominated by the left-wing PvdA/GL alliance led by former EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans. “There is a huge gap with PvdA/GL,” she said, adding that she fights them on substance, particularly over the far-left’s position on issues like the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. But, she added, “Just because I fundamentally disagree with a party doesn’t mean I’ll exclude it entirely. That’s a big step in a democracy.”
Yet, she insisted Wilders had crossed a different kind of line. “He let the voters down. That says something about character. Wilders only shouts things for the stage,” she said.
Despite her efforts to brand herself as firmly on the right, critics accuse her of betraying the conservative agenda. “That’s why I want to become the biggest [party],” Yesilgöz said in her defense, gearing up for the election. “This country needs a healthy right-wing liberal cabinet that delivers.”
Een stem op de VVD is dus een stem op de PvdA en je krijgt GroenLinks er gratis bij.
Wat een verraad van Yesilgöz aan de rechtse kiezer en aan Nederland. Ik hield mijn rug recht op asiel maar zij loopt weg naar links voor meer asiel.
Alleen een grote #PVV kan Nederland redden!
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) June 9, 2025
Wilders, however, has also moved into election mode, telling Dutch voters that a vote for the VVD is now a vote for the left.
“A vote for the VVD is therefore a vote for the PvdA, and you get GroenLinks for free! What a betrayal of Yesilgöz to the right-wing voter and to the Netherlands,” he wrote. “I stood my ground on asylum, but she runs away to the left for more asylum. Only a big PVV can save the Netherlands!”
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