Populist Wilders says right-wing government agreed in the Netherlands

Amsterdam, May 15 (IANS/DPA) The far-right Dutch populist Geert Wilders says he has agreed on a coalition government with three other right-wing parties nearly six months after the Netherlands held parliamentary elections.

"We have an agreement," Wilders said in The Hague on Wednesday as last-minute coalition talks continued ahead of a midnight (2200 GMT Wednesday) deadline.

No candidate for prime minister has yet been agreed on, Wilders said.

The controversial politician's Party for Freedom (PVV) won a clear victory in November's election, taking 37 of 150 seats, but Wilders proved unable to secure enough support to replace Mark Rutte as prime minister.

The coalition is set to include Rutte's liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, Pieter Omtzigt's conservative New Social Contract (NSC) and the populist Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB).

The content of the agreement was not yet available on Wednesday afternoon.

The coalition's parliamentary groupings have to give their approval of the deal before the midnight deadline.

--IANS/DPA

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