PVV already governed in Limburg, how do administrators look back on that?

If Geert Wilders goes to government, it will be the first time that his party joins the cabinet. The PVV has already co-managed in Limburg at provincial level. How did that go?

Three former directors (ex-PVV, CDA and VVD) look back on the collaboration in this article. What lessons has the PVV learned? And how do the trio view a future cabinet with Wilders?

In Limburg, PVV, CDA and VVD formed a coalition in 2011-2012. “We had tough discussions regarding the content,” says Martijn van Helvert, former CDA faction leader in the Provincial Council of Limburg, about the cooperation with the PVV at the time. “Ultimately, they want to do something good for the Netherlands, just like us.”

At the time, the PVV was the largest in the Provincial Council with ten seats. Van Helvert calls it a “very nice”, but also “the most complex period” of his political career. “You suddenly had ten people with a seat and two deputies from the PVV who had not yet done anything in politics. Then of course something goes wrong, but you also see that in other parties in The Hague that suddenly become big.” According to him, the PVV members were eager to learn.

Theo Krebber, PVV deputy from 2011 to 2012, also looks back with predominantly positive feelings. “There was never an argument and we did our job well. Still, things went wrong, but it happened completely without our knowledge.”

In April 2012, the Limburg coalition fell because the CDA withdrew confidence. The reason was that the national PVV forbade the deputies to shake hands with Turkish President Gül during his visit to the Floriade in Venlo. Looking back, Krebber is disappointed that “we let it be destroyed by stupid policies”.

According to the now ex-PVV member, the provincial party was not well managed at the time. “That caused rumblings, arguments and fuss.” According to then CDA faction leader Van Helvert, the problem lay with the local top. “You were able to make good agreements with the PVV faction as a whole.” Although, according to Van Helvert, unrealistic proposals were also submitted, such as the establishment of a Limburg police force.

In 2023, according to Krebber, his former party is in a much better organizational position. He is confident that Wilders can join the government and that the PVV leader will add water to the wine. “He will have to formulate a policy that is more focused on the public interest.”

Van Helvert thinks that the PVV will become even bigger in the next elections if Wilders does not join the government. “But if he now joins the coalition, agreements will have to be made on the content. It cannot be the case that the Netherlands will suddenly lose its good international reputation because strange things are being said abroad.”

The PVV also had a role in the provincial government of Limburg in 2019. A so-called extra-parliamentary board had been established there with the support of the PVV. In addition, administrators do not sit on the council on behalf of a party and there is no coalition.

“Both in 2012 in The Hague and Limburg and in 2021 in Limburg, chunks of this came together with the PVV,” says Joost van den Akker, former deputy on behalf of the VVD in the extra-parliamentary college in Limburg (2019-2021). “I think it is very sensible that the VVD now says ‘we are going into opposition because we have lost a third of our supporters.’

According to Van den Akker, cooperation at a national level is also becoming much more complicated than at a provincial level. “At the provincial level, the PVV had nothing to do with migration or Islam. And the EU flag flew at the government.” But these issues will play a role at a national level in the formation of a cabinet.