Dutch PM resigns : Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the longest-serving Dutch PM, resigned on Saturday after meeting King Willem-Alexander. Rutte’s resignation was caused by the vexing issues of migration and asylum that have swept Europe over the past few years.
The king, who was vacationing in Greece with his family, returned to the country to meet PM Rutte.
Ideological differences
Political observers say the migration issue exposed the ideological differences among Rutte’s coalition partners. The coalition fell out of Rutte’s plans to tighten curbs on reuniting families of asylum seekers, according to Agence-France Presse.
Mark Rutte who is 56 is often called ‘Teflon Mark due to his ability to avoid political catastrophe. The coalition was his fourth since he assumed office in 2010. Rutte took over the present government after 271 days of negotiations with his allies on the migration issue.
“It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy,” Rutte told reporters after talks failed with his partners on the migration issue.
“This evening, we have unfortunately reached the conclusion that the differences are insurmountable. For this reason, I will shortly present my written resignation to the king in the name of the whole government,” the ex-PM added before meeting the king to submit his resignation.
Rutte will head a caretaker government until November 2023 when fresh elections to the Dutch parliament take place.
Sparking bitterness
The sudden collapse of the Dutch government has sparked bitterness among the coalition partners.
One of the coalition partners, ChristenUnie, opposed Rutte’s plan of capping the number of relatives of war refugees at 200 per month.
Carola Schouten, former deputy minister and a member of ChristenUnie said, “The family, that children grow up with their parents, is a core value for us.”
Ex-foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra who represents Christian Democratic Appeal, said the resignation was “very disappointing, unnecessary and inexplicable to the people of the country.”
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