The reason why the Dutch Prime Minister and the entire cabinet resigned

The Dutch government collapsed after Prime Minister Mark Rutte's four-party coalition failed to reach an agreement on measures to curb migration, Dutch media reported on July 7.

The crisis stemmed from Prime Minister Mark Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) pushing to limit the flow of asylum seekers to the Netherlands, but was met with opposition from two of the four parties.

The alliance has been in talks for months to find ways to reduce the flow of new migrants to the country of nearly 18 million people. Proposals include creating two categories of asylum, one temporary for those fleeing conflict and one permanent for those trying to escape persecution, and reducing the number of family members allowed to join asylum seekers in the Netherlands.

Tensions came to a head this week when Mr Rutte proposed restricting the entry of children of war refugees already in the Netherlands, forcing them to wait at least two years to be reunited. The latest proposal was fiercely opposed by the Christian Union and the D66 democratic party, causing a deadlock.

Mr Rutte chaired meetings on the night of July 5-6 without reaching an agreement on migration policy. At the final round of talks on the evening of July 7, the parties decided that they could not reach a consensus and therefore could not stay together in the coalition.

“It is no secret that the coalition has different views on immigration policy. Today, we have regrettably concluded that we have not been able to overcome these differences. Therefore, I will immediately submit the resignation of the entire cabinet to the king,” Mr Rutte said in a televised press conference.

World - Reasons why the Dutch Prime Minister and his entire cabinet resigned — Asylum applications to the Netherlands have skyrocketed despite the country having one of the toughest immigration policies in Europe. Photo: CNN

After Mr Rutte steps down, his coalition will continue to function as a caretaker government until a new administration is formed after new elections, a process that is expected to take months given the polarised political landscape of the Netherlands, with 20 parties in the 150-seat lower house of parliament.

The Dutch national election commission said the elections would not be held before the second half of November, ANP news agency reported.

The Netherlands has one of the toughest immigration policies in Europe. Under pressure from right-wing parties, Mr Rutte has been trying for months to further reduce the flow of asylum seekers.

The number of asylum applications in the Netherlands rose by a third last year to more than 46,000. The EU country expects the figure to rise to more than 70,000 this year, surpassing the previous peak in 2015.

This will again put a strain on the country's refugee facilities, where hundreds of refugees were forced to sleep in harsh conditions with little or no access to drinking water, sanitation or healthcare for months last year.

Mr Rutte said he was “ashamed” of the problems, and promised to improve conditions in the facilities, mainly by reducing the number of asylum seekers arriving in the Netherlands. But he failed to win the support of coalition partners, who felt his policies had gone too far.

Mr Rutte's current coalition takes power in January 2022. This is his fourth consecutive government since he became prime minister in October 2010.

Mr Rutte and his cabinet resigned once in 2021 after the government failed to protect thousands of families from tax inspections, but he weathered the crisis and went on to become the Dutch leader in December that year .

Nguyen Tuyet (According to CNN, AP, Euronews, NYTimes)

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