He ran the government for 13 years.
(Photo: IMAGO/ANP)
Amsterdam Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will leave politics after the snap elections. The politician said on Monday.
Rutte’s four-party coalition broke up on Friday evening in the dispute over migration policy. The sticking point at the crisis meeting was stricter restrictions on family reunification for refugees. Rutte’s right-wing liberal party VVD had called for regulation. Other parties went too far.
Rutte had previously stated that he wanted to run again in the next elections, but that ultimately depended on his conservative VVD party. 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.
Now, however, the prime minister has announced the change: “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 met King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on Saturday, but gave no details of the content of the conversation. It was still unclear who could succeed him at the head of the VVD. The faction is led by Rutte’s former adviser Sophie Hermans.
Dutch Prime Minister Rutte announces withdrawal
An election date has not yet been set, but an appointment in autumn is expected. King Willem-Alexander could announce the election date at short notice.
The topic of migration is likely to play a particularly important role in the upcoming election campaign. However, left-wing opposition parties announced that they also want to focus on other issues that they believe Rutte has neglected – from climate change to the housing shortage to the future of Dutch agriculture, which is worth billions.
It is still unclear who could succeed Mark Rutte at the head of the right-wing liberal governing party. His former adviser Hermans heads the parliamentary group.
(Photo: IMAGO/ANP)
The new elections could give a boost to the farmers’ and citizens’ movement BBB, which triumphed in the regional elections earlier in the year. It is already the strongest party in the Senate and could now also become dangerous in Rutte’s VVD House of Representatives.
More: Dutch government collapses over asylum dispute