ANTI-ISLAM chauvinist Geert Wilders and three other Dutch political leaders appear to have forced a breakthrough in negotiations to form a new ruling coalition nearly four months after his far-right party won a depressing election victory.

While the exact contours of a new coalition Cabinet remain unclear, designated go-between Kim Putters, who led two days of closed-doors talks, believes that the parties are now ready to hammer out a deal.

Mr Putters was writing up a report today that he will present to politicians on Thursday.

“My expectation is that these parties will take the next step in the Cabinet formation,” Mr Putters told reporters on Tuesday night.

After two decades of trenchant opposition, Mr Wilders would have a shot at governing a nation that long prided itself on its tolerant society.

Mr Wilders has often called for a ban on mosques, Islamic schools and the Koran, but in a concession to his prospective coalition partners in January, he withdrew draft legislation to implement the bans.