The resignation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the nation’s longest-serving prime minister, means the country will face a general election later this year. Rutte and his government will remain in office in an interim capacity until a new ruling coalition is chosen.
The Dutch government collapsed on Friday due to irreconcilable differences within the four-party coalition over how to control migration, an issue that divides nations across Europe.
The resignation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the nation’s longest-serving prime minister, means the country will face a general election later this year. Rutte and his government will remain in office in an interim capacity until a new ruling coalition is chosen.
“It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy,” Rutte told reporters in The Hague. “And today, unfortunately, we have to draw the conclusion that these differences are irreconcilable. That is why I will immediately… offer the resignation of the entire Cabinet to the King in writing.”
Opposition lawmakers wasted no time calling for new elections even before Rutte formally confirmed his resignation.
Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party, which opposes immigration, tweeted: “Fast Elections Now.” Across the political spectrum, Green Left leader Jesse Klaver has also called an election, telling Dutch broadcaster NOS: “This country needs a change of direction.”
Rutte had chaired late-night meetings Wednesday and Thursday that failed to result in an agreement on immigration policy. In a final round of talks on Friday night, the parties unanimously decided that they could not agree and, as a result, could not stay together in the coalition.
The decision underscored ideological divisions that had existed since the day the coalition was sworn in just over 18 months ago between parties that do not support a strict crackdown on immigration (D66 and the centrist ChristenUnie, or Christian Union) party and the two that favor tougher measures. — Rutte’s conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Christian Democrats.
Similar discussions are playing out across political divides in other parts of Europe, as migrants fleeing conflict or seeking a better life make perilous sea journeys from North Africa to reach the continent. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled the harsh war in Ukraine.
Migration is expected to be a key issue in next year’s European Union parliamentary elections, but the issue came early to the Netherlands, a nation long torn between welcoming international outreach and growing resistance to foreign influences.
Rutte’s coalition tried for months to reach an agreement to reduce the flow of new immigrants into the country of nearly 18 million people. The proposals reportedly included creating two types of asylum, a temporary one for people fleeing conflict and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution, and reducing the number of family members who can join the asylum seekers in the Netherlands.
Last year, hundreds of asylum seekers were forced to sleep outdoors in precarious conditions near an overcrowded reception center as the number of people arriving in the Netherlands outnumbered the available beds. Dutch aid agencies provided assistance.
Just over 21,500 people from outside Europe applied for asylum in the Netherlands in 2022, according to the country’s statistics office. Tens of thousands more moved to the Netherlands to work and study.
The figures have put a strain on housing that was already in short supply in the densely populated country.
Rutte’s government worked on a law that could force municipalities to provide accommodation for newly arrived asylum seekers, but the legislation has yet to pass both houses of parliament.
The prime minister also promoted the European Union’s efforts to curb migration to the 27-nation bloc. Rutte visited Tunisia last month with his Italian counterpart and the president of the EU’s executive committee to offer more than 1 billion euros in financial aid to rescue the North African nation’s faltering economy and stop migration from its shores to Europe.
Rutte’s coalition government, the fourth he has led, took office in January 2022 after the longest coalition negotiations in Dutch political history.
The election to the lower house of the Dutch parliament later this year will take place in a polarized and fragmented political landscape: there are 20 parties in the 150-seat lower house.
During provincial elections earlier this year, a populist pro-farmer party put Rutte’s party in second place. The loss was seen as a possible incentive for Rutte to do everything possible to keep her coalition together until she ends her term in 2025.
The coalition has been trying for months to reach an agreement to reduce the flow of new immigrants into the country of nearly 18 million people. The proposals reportedly include creating two classes of asylum, a temporary one for people fleeing conflict and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution, and reducing the number of family members who can join the asylum seekers in the Netherlands.
“We have been working on this for a long time and all the information is on the table. We have to look together to see if we can do something about it,” Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, a member of Rutte’s party, said ahead of the latest round of talks.
Just over 21,500 people from outside Europe applied for asylum in the Netherlands in 2022, according to the country’s statistics office. Tens of thousands more moved to the Netherlands to work and study.
The figures have put a strain on housing that was already in short supply in the densely populated country.
Rutte’s government has been working on a law that could force municipalities to provide accommodation for newly arrived asylum seekers, but the legislation has yet to pass both houses of parliament.
The prime minister has also promoted efforts by the European Union to curb migration to the 27-nation bloc. Rutte visited Tunisia last month with his Italian counterpart and the president of the EU’s executive committee to offer more than 1 billion euros in financial aid to rescue the North African nation’s faltering economy and stop migration from its shores to Europe.
Rutte’s coalition government, the fourth he has led, took office in January 2022 after the longest coalition negotiations in Dutch political history.
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