Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte yesterday visited the nation’s king to turn in the resignation of his four-party coalition and set the Netherlands on track for a general election later this year.
The coalition fell apart on Friday over “insurmountable” differences on how to tackle migration, with elections expected in November.
King Willem-Alexander flew back from a family vacation in Greece to meet with Rutte, who drove to the palace in his Saab station wagon for the meeting.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The vexed issue of reining in migration that has troubled countries across Europe for years was the final stumbling block that brought down Rutte’s government, exposing the deep ideological differences between the four coalition parties.
Now it is likely to dominate campaigning for the election.
“We are the party that can ensure a majority to significantly restrict the flow of asylum seekers,” said Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom, who supported Rutte’s first minority coalition 13 years ago, but also ultimately brought it down.
Socialist Party leader Lilian Marijnissen told Dutch broadcaster NOS that the collapse of Rutte’s government was “good news for the Netherlands.”
“I think that everybody felt that this Cabinet was done,” Marijnissen said. “They have created more problems than they solved.”
Despite the divisions between the parties in Rutte’s government, it will remain in power as a caretaker administration until a new coalition is formed.
Pieter Heerma, the leader of coalition partner the Christian Democrats, called Rutte’s approach in the talks “almost reckless.”
The fall of the government comes just months after the Farmers Citizens Movement shocked the political establishment by winning provincial elections.
The party is already the largest bloc in the Senate and is expected to be a threat to Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.
Additional reporting by AFP
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