Wilders' ally quits in fraud scandal, upending Dutch coalition talks

Talks to form a government coalition in the Netherlands after anti-Islam and far-right leader Geert Wilders's shock election win were thrown into disarray Monday as the man tasked with overseeing them resigned.

The "scout" appointed by Wilders came under heavy scrutiny over the weekend, as allegations of fraud at his former company surfaced in the Dutch media.

The "unrest" surrounding the reports and the time required to respond properly "do not go well together with my work as the scout," said Gom van Strien.

"I have therefore told Geert Wilders and the president of the parliament that I have resigned my position as scout with immediate effect," said van Strien.

Van Strien, a senator at Wilders' PVV party, was supposed to begin the formal task of forming a coalition later Monday, meeting the top party leading, starting with Wilders himself.

The meetings were later scrapped.

Wilders already faces an uphill battle to convince other parties to work with him, given his strident anti-Islam, anti-immigrant and anti-European Union views.

Although he moderated his tone somewhat during the election campaign, the PVV manifesto calls for a ban on mosques, the Quran, and headscarves, as well as a referendum on leaving the EU.