Greek crisis puts strain on Dutch coalition

Financial Times
May 20, 2011

Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, has attacked Geert Wilders, the far-right politician, over demands that the Netherlands pulls out of the Greek bail-out led by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

The Greek debt crisis has led to significant tension in the Netherlands’ shaky coalition government. Mr Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), has repeatedly attacked the government’s support for IMF aid to Greece in recent weeks.

Mr Rutte on Thursday accused Mr Wilders of “playing with fire, playing with savings and pensions,” and of engaging in “fact-free politics” driven solely by polling results.

“We have thrown crates full of money over the dikes to Greece that we will never see again,” Mr Wilders responded. He asked whether his party would have to stand up for the majority of the voters of Mr Rutte’s own Liberal Party (VVD), who he said opposed aid to Greece.

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