CNN
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The Dutch government collapsed on Friday after failing to reach a deal to curb immigration, which would trigger new 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 to the Netherlands, which two of his four-party governing coalition refused to support.
“It is no secret that the coalition partners have different opinions about the immigration policy. Now, unfortunately, we have to conclude that the differences have become insurmountable. So I will hand over the resignation of the entire cabinet to the king, ” Rutte said at a televised news conference.
Tensions came to a head this week, when Rutte sought support for a proposal to limit the entry of war refugee children already in the Netherlands and make families wait at least two years. before they are united.
This latest proposal was too far for the small Christian Union and liberal D66, causing a stalemate.
Rutte’s coalition will remain as a caretaker government until a new administration is formed after fresh elections, a process that in the fractured Dutch political landscape often takes months.
The ANP news agency, citing the national election committee, said the elections would not be held before mid-November.
A caretaker government cannot decide on new policies, but Rutte said that this will not affect the country’s support for Ukraine.
Vincent Jannink/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
Asylum applications in the Netherlands have jumped despite one of the toughest immigration policies in Europe.
The Netherlands already has one of the toughest immigration policies in Europe but under pressure from right-wing parties, Rutte has been trying for months to find ways to further reduce the flow of asylum seekers. .
Asylum applications in the Netherlands jumped for a third year last year to more than 46,000, and the government plans to increase them to more than 70,000 this year – topping the previous high in 2015.
This will again put a strain on the country’s asylum facilities, where for months last year hundreds of refugees at a time were forced to sleep rough with little or no access to drinking water, sanitary facilities or health care.
Rutte last year said he felt “ashamed” of the problems, after the humanitarian group Medecins sans Frontieres sent a team to the Netherlands for the first time ever, to help migrants with medical needs in center for processing asylum requests.
He promised to improve the conditions of the facilities, especially by reducing the number of refugees reaching the Netherlands. But he failed to win the support of coalition partners who felt his policies went too far.
Rutte, 56, is the longest-serving government leader in Dutch history and the most senior in the EU after Hungary’s Viktor Orban. He is expected to lead his VVD party again in the next election.
Rutte’s current coalition, which came to power in January 2022, is his fourth consecutive administration since he became prime minister in October 2010.
