Wilders Coalition Partner Takes Step Back For Health Reasons

Sarah Jacob
·1-min read

(Bloomberg) -- New Social Contract party leader Pieter Omtzigt says he will be taking a step back and will “be less in the spotlight in the coming weeks.”

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  • “The past year has been exceptionally intense, and that means that, for health reasons, I will be working more in the background,” he says in a post on social media platform X

  • Nicolien van Vroonhoven, NSC’s deputy chair of the parliamentary group, to represent the party in an upcoming debate in the parliament, Omtzigt says

  • NOTE: Far-right politician Geert Wilders delivered a shock election victory on Nov. 22. Omtzigt was an early front-runner but lost ground after hesitating over whether he wanted to be prime minister. Omtzigt’s center-right New Social Contract party is part of the Dutch coalition along with Wilders’ Freedom Party, the populist Farmer-Citizen Movement AND Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius’ People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD

  • READ: Dutch Premier Rutte’s Nemesis Wants an End to Joint EU Debt

  • READ: Popular Dutch Lawmaker Launches New Party Ahead of November Vote

(Updates with details throughout)

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