The Netherlands
Fall of the Dutch government
After weeks of wrangling over immigration policy, the prime minister’s coalition government finally gave way.
Posted Jul 7, 2023 8:46pm
The Prime Minister is the oldest ruler of the Netherlands.
AFP
The coalition government of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has collapsed after heated negotiations between the four ruling parties over refugee policy, national media reported on Friday. “The government has failed to reach an agreement on the measures to be taken to stem the influx of asylum seekers. “This will be reported in The Hague,” writes the Dutch public broadcaster NOS on its website. “This is the end of the Rutte IV government,” she adds.
Mr Rutte, nicknamed “Teflon” for his ability to remain in power for 12 years despite scandals, becoming the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history, took the reins in January 2022 after a record 271 trading days taken over by his fourth coalition. But the head of government of the right-wing liberal VVD party had caused trouble among his right-wing and center partners in the past few days by demanding a series of divisive measures relating to the admission of asylum seekers.
Disagreement on child quota
Mark Rutte called for the three other parties in the governing coalition, the Christian Democrats of the CDA, the centrist Liberals of the D66 and the small Protestant party ChristenUnie, to agree to set a quota for the number of children from conflict zones who can be granted asylum in the Netherlands. He also demanded that refugees already living in the Netherlands should no longer be allowed to move there with their children if a monthly quota of 200 children had already been reached.
But two more flexible immigration parties, ChristenUnie and D66, oppose the project. The ChristenUnie, most of whose voters live in the “Bijbelgordel”, the Belt of the Bible, a conservative area of the country, has traditionally opposed tightening the admission policy for asylum seekers because of its religious convictions. ‘Asylum. “We are all created and loved by the same God, and from him we also received the earth on which we live.” We are therefore convinced that it is our duty to help the victims of disasters, wars, To offer a safe place to persecution and oppression,” writes ChristenUnie on its website. After initial negotiations on Wednesday, government members had met again urgently overnight from Thursday to Friday to discuss the prime minister’s proposals, but without reaching an agreement, prompting speculation of a swift ouster of Mr Rutte’s fourth government, as is commonly known in the Netherlands as “Rutte IV”.
new elections
Since the start of his first term in office in 2010, Mr. Rutte and his right-wing liberal formation have had to face competition and pressure from several far-right parties, in particular Geert Wilders’ PVV, which is vehemently opposed to “immigration”. With the coalition falling apart, Prime Minister Mark Rutte was set to re-campaign for legislation, with the aim of beginning a fifth term as prime minister. However, he could face competition for the top position within his party.
Originally scheduled for 2025, these elections, which will determine the composition of the lower house of the Dutch parliament, were due to take place soon and could possibly take place in the next few months. The race for seats in the House of Representatives is likely to be tough for parties in the outgoing government, as a new pro-farmer formation opposed to EU environmental rules won the majority of seats in March’s regional elections, which will also decide the composition of the Senate.
(AFP)Show comments