The governing coalition in the Netherlands collapsed Tuesday after Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders withdrew his populist Party for Freedom (PVV)'s ministers — escalating an ongoing dispute over the country's immigration and asylum policies.

"I worked hard for 25 years to establish the PVV and make it a major party, so I’m not standing here as someone who had a good day today," Wilders told Dutch news outlet GeenStijl in a translated interview late Tuesday. "But it is the best choice, because I’m here for the Dutch, and I also hope that the Dutch people understand why I did this."

The Netherlands will now have a temporary caretaker government, which is expected to be in place when The Hauge hosts the NATO summit in three weeks.

How it got to this point

Wilders, 61, has long voiced anti-immigration and particularly anti-Muslim positions.

Muslims make up about 5 percent of the nearly 18 million people in the Netherlands.

The........

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