FORMER spy boss Dick Schoof became the new Dutch prime minister today, more than seven months after the far-right Party for Freedom won the most seat in parliamentary elections.

Opposition from other parties prevented Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders from taking the top job, even though, during the months of negotiations, he had compromised on several of his most extreme views, including withdrawing a plan to ban mosques, Islamic schools and the Koran.

Nonetheless, the coalition agreement foresees strict restrictions on asylum-seekers, an end to family reunification for refugees and a cut in the number of international students studying in the Netherlands.