Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is due to meet King Willem-Alexander on Saturday (July 8) following his resignation, late Friday, after 13 years in power as his coalition government failed to reach a consensus on migration policy. Citing ‘irreconciable’ differences on how to tackle the immigration problem as the reason, Rutte’s shock resignation has set the stage for fresh elections later this year.
During the Dutch PM’s meeting with the King, he is expected to discuss a caretaker administration following the collapse of the centre-right government. However, since King Willem-Alexander is the head of the state, he might ask Rutte’s coalition to continue as a caretaker government until a new administration is formed after the elections.
“This evening we have unfortunately reached the conclusion that the differences are insurmountable. That is why I will immediately…offer the resignation of the entire cabinet to the king in writing,” Rutte told reporters in The Hague.
“It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy. And today, unfortunately, we have to draw the conclusion that those differences are irreconcilable,” he added.
Rutte is the leader of the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and has been the Dutch prime minister since 2010. However, his current tenure came to a grinding halt, just one and a half years after coming to power in January 2022.
Why did Rutte resign?
Notably, Rutte’s VVD and Christian Democrat Appeal party (CDA) are all in for stricter measures on migration, but the centre-left Democrats 66 (D66) and Christian Union (ChristenUnie) do not share the same vision.
Rutte wanted to tighten curbs on reuniting families of asylum seekers after a scandal last year about overcrowded asylum seekers. The conservative leader wanted to cap the number of war refugees allowed into the Netherlands to 200 per month. He threatened to walk away and topple the government if the four-party coalition did not pass his measures.
However, D66 and ChristenUnie remained staunchly opposed to the measures. To reach a breakthrough and save the shaky government, talks were held on Wednesday and Thursday but to no fruition.
The opposition leaders, however, have called for ‘quick, snap’ elections. Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Party for Freedom (PVV), took to Twitter and batted against Rutte leading the caretaker government.
Rutte’s VVD emerged as the largest party but won less than 22 per cent of the vote. Only two other parties had support above 10 per cent, while no fewer than 17 groups won at least one seat in the House of Representatives. Thus, it looks highly unlikely that another coalition can come in and fill the void left by the collapse of the Rutte-led four-party arrangement.
