Remove queen from government, says Wilders
Queen Beatrix should no longer be officially part of the government, PVV leader Geert Wilders said during the debate on the new government on Tuesday.
Wilders, whose party has agreed to back the minority government in a number of policy areas, says he will introduce draft legislation in an effort to get the queen officially removed as head of state.
According to the Dutch constitution, the monarch is officially head of the government, but in practice, it is the prime minister (minister-president in Dutch) who leads.
Republicans
‘We support the royal family. We are not republicans. But having the queen in the government is a bridge too far,’ Wilders said.
He admitted trying and failing to get the new minority VVD CDA government to accept this position during the cabinet formation talks.
Changing the constitution requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament.
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