Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tendered his government’s resignation to King Willem-Alexander on Saturday, signaling the end of his four-party coalition. The deeply divided Netherlands is now heading towards a general election later this year. The collapse of the coalition was primarily triggered by disagreements over migration policies, exposing the stark ideological differences among the coalition partners. The issue of reining in migration is expected to dominate the upcoming election campaign, with both anti-immigration parties and left-wing opposition parties seeking to address various other challenges such as climate change, housing shortages, and the agricultural sector.
Despite the government’s dissolution, it will continue to function as a caretaker administration until a new coalition is formed, though major new laws will not be passed during this period. Mark Rutte, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, played a central role in undermining his fourth coalition government by taking a tough stance on reducing the number of migrants seeking asylum in the Netherlands. His proposed measures included creating temporary and permanent asylum categories and limiting family reunification for asylum-seekers, which faced strong opposition from the coalition party ChristenUnie. The fall of the government comes shortly after the rise of the populist Farmers Citizens Movement, which won provincial elections and now poses a significant challenge to Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.
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