The new government’s strategy to cut the influx of immigrants with a non-western background will result in a reduction of maximum 15%, not 50% as Geert Wilders claims, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday.

The paper says civil service documents drawn up during the formation talks show the effect of the new immigration controls will be much less than the PVV leader claims.
Wilders, leader of the anti-Islam PVV, agreed to support the minority government in terms of economic policy in return for immigration cuts. He made the 50% claim at the presentation of the new government and said later that it would cause problems for the PVV and cabinet if the target is not met.
The Volkskrant says civil servants analysed nine different scenarios in the draft coalition agreement.
‘The expectation is that they could mean a reduction of newcomers of between 5% and 10%,’ the paper quotes the documents as saying.
MPs have called on prime minister Mark Rutte to explain the discrepancy. ‘Voters have been told muscle-flexing stories which don’t add up,’ said GroenLinks MP Tofik Bibi.