It took 224 days to negotiate the governing agreement, but the new Dutch government headed by Dick Schoof, the former head of the intelligence services, officially took office on Tuesday, July 2. Ministers gathered for the traditional photo on the steps of the royal palace in The Hague, while demonstrators were kept at bay by police. They were protesting against "hatred," "racist ministers" and, above all, the presence in the coalition of Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV).

Having come out on top in the November 2023 elections, the far-right leader has joined forces with three right-wing and center-right parties to realize his main ambitions: break with 14 years of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, limit immigration as much as possible, break away from certain European rules, notably in the environmental field, and implement a social program that would be financed by, among other things, massive savings in development aid, the reception of asylum seekers and subsidies for sustainable energies.

In the early afternoon, Rutte, who will take over the helm of NATO on October 1, got on his bike to leave the Torentje for the last time, the offices to which he had just handed over the key to his successor after staying there for 5,010 days. On Sunday, June 30, in a farewell message to his country, the liberal leader had pleaded for respect for "the excellent Dutch tradition of consultation and intelligent compromise." It's hard to believe that these words were not addressed to Wilders, who had to relinquish the prime minister's post against his will, but who intends to influence the actions of the new government.

On Thursday and Friday, Schoof, the senior civil servant in the Ministry of Justice who eventually won the approval of the four components of the new majority, will undergo his baptism of fire in front of the House of Representatives. How will this neophyte manage an "extra-parliamentary" team, so named because the leaders of the parties concerned will be absent? Nobody seems to know.

"My plans are those that the presidents of the parliamentary fractions have debated," he explained on June 28. This raises doubts about his ability to manage an unprecedented formula with, for the first time, a far-right party in power and the role of head of government reduced to that of a notary, subject to the authority of four parties and risking isolation.

In any case, Wilders is determined to make his mark, as some of his recent statements have shown. While he has agreed to shelve his most radical proposals, such as banning the headscarf and the Quran and closing down mosques, he has aligned himself with most of Europe's far-right leaders, reiterating his view that Islam is an "awful, immoral, violent and hateful" religion. And he lent his support to Marjolein Faber, the migration minister he appointed, who was strongly criticized for comments – which she eventually withdrew – on the "great replacement," the theory that a North African and African population will eventually replace the European one.

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