Overview

• Geert Wilders, the far-right Dutch lawmaker, has withdrawn a proposed 2018 legislation advocating a ban on mosques and the Quran.
• The move is seen as a key concession to potential coalition partners, particularly three mainstream parties Wilders aims to bring into a coalition.
• Pieter Omtzigt, leader of one of the potential coalition parties, expressed concerns that Wilders’ policies might breach the Dutch Constitution.
• The abandonment of the bill could be critical in gaining the trust and support of three more mainstream parties that Wilders wants to co-opt into a coalition along with his Party for Freedom.
• The three laws were proposed to parliament by Wilders in 2017, 2018 and 2019, but never garnered a majority in the lower house.