He ran the government for 13 years.
(Photo: IMAGO/ANP)
Amsterdam Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte no longer wants to run for a fifth term. Rutte said on Monday that he would leave politics after the snap elections in November.
The 56-year-old has been prime minister for almost 13 years, making him the longest-serving head of government in the history of the Netherlands. His coalition broke up on Friday over migration policy.
Rutte had previously stated that he would like to run again, but that would depend on his conservative VVD party. “In the past few days, there has been a lot of speculation about what motivated me. The only answer is the Netherlands,” Rutte said in a speech in parliament ahead of a debate on the collapse of the government.
“Yesterday morning I made the decision that I will no longer be available as chairman of the VVD. As soon as the new cabinet is formed after the election, I will leave politics.”
Rutte faces a vote of no confidence in Parliament on Monday. The opposition does not want him to remain in office until new elections, but rather to remove him immediately.
Government coalition broke up over refugee dispute
Rutte caused this government crisis and lost trust through his actions in the dispute over a stricter migration policy, said the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Labour, Attje Kuiken, on Sunday evening in a TV show. “We need an outsider to step in to avoid deadlock and restore confidence.”
Rutte’s four-party centre-right coalition collapsed on Friday over disputes over family reunification for asylum seekers. His conservative party VVD wanted families to wait at least two years before they were reunited. This was opposed by the Christian Union and the liberal D66.
Normally, a no-confidence vote would not endanger Rutte thanks to the majority of his coalition. But the coalition partners made it clear over the weekend that they largely blame him for the government crisis. They accused him of pushing for a limit on family reunification, although these measures went too far for junior partner Christian Union.
More: Dutch government collapses over asylum dispute