Dutch far-right Geert Wilders' hopes of becoming prime minister sink after coalition talks collapse

• Far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders' hopes of becoming prime minister of the Netherlands are dwindling after coalition talks fell into disarray Tuesday.
• The New Social Contract party's leader Pieter Omtzigt walked away from negotiations, vexing Wilders' efforts to assemble a working alliance for his Party for Freedom (PVV) following their shock victory in November.
• Omtzigt said in a letter that his party had been shocked by confidential Cabinet briefings on the state of public finances.

LONDON — Far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders' hopes of becoming prime minister of the Netherlands are dwindling after coalition talks fell into disarray Tuesday.

Pieter Omtzigt, founder and leader of the upstart center-right New Social Contract (NSC), walked away from negotiations, vexing Wilders' efforts to assemble a working alliance for his Party for Freedom (PVV) following its shock victory in the Netherlands' November general election.

Wilders took to social media Tuesday evening to berate Omtzigt's withdrawal, calling the decision "incredibly disappointing."

"The Netherlands wants this cabinet and now Pieter Omtzigt is throwing in the towel while we were still in discussions until today. I don't understand it at all," Wilders wrote in a post on X, according to a Google translation.

Dutch media reported that Omtzigt, whose party won 20 seats in November on a campaign of "good governance" and "doing politics differently," had been shocked by confidential Cabinet briefings on the state of public finances.

In a letter posted to X, Omtzigt said it was clear that PVV and NSC have "different financial expectations" for the years ahead.

"Under no circumstances does NSC want to make promises to Dutch people, which it knows in advance