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Prime Minister Mark Rutte said differences in the cabinet had become “insurmountable”.
CNN –
The Dutch government collapsed on Friday after failing to reach an agreement on immigration restrictions that will trigger snap elections in the autumn.
The crisis was triggered by a push by Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s conservative VVD party to limit the flow of asylum seekers into the Netherlands, which two members of his four-party coalition government refused to support.
“It’s no secret that the coalition partners have different opinions on immigration policy. Unfortunately, today we have to realize that these differences have become insurmountable. Therefore, I will submit the resignation of the entire cabinet to the king,” Rutte said in a televised press conference.
Tensions peaked this week when Rutte called for support for a proposal to limit the entry of children of war refugees already in the Netherlands and make families wait at least two years before they can be reunited.
This latest proposal went too far for the small Christian Union and the liberal D66, leading to a stalemate.
Rutte’s coalition will remain in place as an interim government until a new government is formed after snap elections, a process that usually takes months in the fragmented Dutch political landscape.
The ANP news agency, citing the national electoral commission, said the elections would not take place until mid-November.
A caretaker government cannot adopt new policies, but Rutte said it would not affect the country’s support for Ukraine.
Vincent Jannink/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
The number of asylum applications in the Netherlands has skyrocketed despite one of the toughest immigration policies in Europe.
The Netherlands already has one of the strictest immigration policies in Europe, but under pressure from right-wing parties, Rutte had spent months looking for ways to further reduce the influx of asylum seekers.
The number of asylum applications in the Netherlands rose by a third to over 46,000 last year, and the government predicts it could rise to over 70,000 this year – beating the previous peak of 2015.
This will put a renewed strain on the country’s asylum facilities, where for months last year hundreds of refugees were forced to sleep outdoors with little or no access to drinking water, sanitation or health care.
Last year Rutte said he felt “ashamed” by the troubles after the humanitarian group Médecins Sans Frontières sent a team to the Netherlands for the first time ever to help with the medical care of migrants at the center for processing asylum applications .
He promised to improve conditions in the facilities, primarily by reducing the number of refugees entering the Netherlands. However, he failed to garner support from coalition partners, who felt his policies went too far.
Rutte, 56, is the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history and the longest-serving in the EU after Hungary’s Viktor Orban. He is expected to once again lead his VVD party in the next elections.
Rutte’s current coalition, which came to power in January 2022, was his fourth consecutive term since becoming prime minister in October 2010.