The former head of Holland’s national security service, Dick Schoof, has been chosen by the right-wing coalition in the Netherlands, consisting of four parties, to succeed Mark Rutte, the long-standing Prime Minister.
At 67, having been the director general of the nation’s intelligence agency, AIVD, and a previous senior civil servant in the justice ministry, Schoof brings a wealth of experience. Crucially, he previously served as the co-ordinator for the national counter-terrorism effort, a role in which he advised the administration on the fluid danger level.
In the middle of this month, Schoof’s appointment was agreed on by the four party coalition – the Freedom Party led by Geert Wilders, the centre-right VVD, the New Social Contract party in its early stages, and the farmers’ lobby group, BBB. The coalition’s formation commenced after the previous general election in November, which saw Wilders’ Freedom Party come out on top.
When faced with opposition to the potential of Wilders becoming the country’s inaugural far-right leader, the leaders of all four parties chose not to put themselves forward for Prime Minister and instead decided to retain their party leadership roles in parliament.
Previously, the coalition’s main candidate for the role of Prime Minister was Ronald Plasterk, a retired professor of genetics, who dropped out last week. Although he was never officially selected, his exit stirred up the process, prompting a number of influential figures to publicly dismiss themselves from the race. This lead Wilders to reassure MPs that securing a candidate for the top role had become a crucial matter of urgency.
Schoof, who serves as the secretary general of the justice department and has previously been affiliated with the Labour Party, was never discussed in the media as a potential successor to Rutte.
Having also worked in Immigration and Naturalisation Service on legislation reform, Schoof is expected to have a deep understanding of the difficult task ahead, this includes introducing ambitious new restrictions on migration and to pushing for an exemption from EU environmental policy on CO2 emissions. More importantly, he is tasked to seek out high calibre political outsiders interested in becoming ‘technocratic’ expert ministers, in order to lessen the ties between the new cabinet and parliament.
Wilders, proclaiming his happiness and pride after meeting Schoof on Tuesday evening, hailed his naming as a delayed victory. Schoof, being an individual who is robust and commands the trust of all four coalition parties, no doubt has a challenging road ahead.