Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced his resignation and that of his government. The four-party coalition broke up on Friday in a dispute over migration policy. This should lead to new elections. “
Rutte: “Very different views on migration policy”
“It’s no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy,” Rutte told journalists.
The Prime Minister’s centre-right VVD party had proposed tough rules for asylum seekers and threatened to leave the cabinet if the measures proposed by Rutte were not passed. Specifically, Rutte calls for making family reunification more difficult for war refugees.
The Christian Democratic party Christen Unie had said it “couldn’t live with Rutte’s proposal,” and Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag’s center-left D66 party reportedly rejected the request. The Dutch government has been at odds on the issue since it took office a year and a half ago.
Right-wing populists could benefit
Mark Rutte (56) has been Prime Minister of the Netherlands for almost 13 years, making him one of the longest-serving heads of government in the EU. Since January 2022, he has led his fourth cabinet after coalition negotiations that lasted a good nine months, making them the longest in the country’s history. A total of four parties were needed to achieve a majority in the second chamber of parliament: Rutte’s right-wing liberal VVD, the left-liberal D66, the Christian Democratic CDA and the small Christian Union.
After numerous crises, the coalition’s poll numbers had fallen sharply. In the most recent provincial elections in March, in which the first chamber of parliament – comparable to the Federal Council – was elected, all governing parties posted significant losses. The big election winner was the right-wing populist peasant movement BBB, which became the strongest force right away. The BBB is only represented by one deputy in the Lower House. Great success is predicted for the party in a new election.