CNN
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The Dutch government has collapsed after failing to reach an agreement to curb immigration.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday his government would submit its resignation to the Dutch king, triggering new elections in the autumn.
Rutte, who has been in power since 2010 and is Europe’s second-longest-serving leader, said disputes over measures to restrict immigration had caused the fracture of his four-party coalition government.
“It’s no secret that the coalition partners have different views on immigration policy,” Rutte told a press conference on Friday night, stating that “these differences have become insurmountable.”
King Willem-Alexander he has returned early from his vacation to meet with Rutte on Saturday, when the prime minister will formally offer his resignation.
The move was prompted by differences between Rutte’s conservative VVD party and coalition counterparts over measures to limit the flow of asylum seekers into the country.
Rutte said the coalition had “lost its political foundation” after the breakdown of negotiations. “This is extremely unfortunate and at the same time a political reality that we cannot avoid,” he said.
In addition to VVD, the current coalition government consists of the liberal party D66, the centrist Christian Union and the more socially conservative Christian Democratic Appeal.
VVD has proposed limiting the entry of children of war refugees already in the country and making families wait at least two years before they can be reunited.
Two of the VVD’s coalition parties, the Christian Union and the D66, refused to support the restrictions, leading to the split.
“In the Netherlands we have a tradition of bridging differences. We are a country of minorities. We consider each other. Only then can we find compatible solutions. That’s why we made agreements with four parties,” Dutch Finance Minister and DD6 party leader Sigrid Kaag said on Friday.
“After long and intense discussions, cooperation in the coalition has stopped today. D66 approached the talks constructively. The negotiations were tough. We have always sought the right tone, attitude and content. Unfortunately, the differences were irreconcilable”, he added.
The number of asylum applications received by the Netherlands increased from 36,620 in 2021 to 47,991 last yearwith the majority of applicants coming from Syria, according to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service.
As of May this year, the country had received 16,097 applications.
The government estimates that requests could exceed 70,000 by the end of 2023.
Wopke Hoekstra, Dutch foreign minister and leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal, which backed Rutte’s policies, said the Netherlands needed to “control migration”.
“The carrying capacity of our small, densely populated country is under pressure. People often find themselves competing for housing, healthcare and education,” Hoekstra said on Friday.
On Monday there will be a debate in parliament about the fall of the government. Parliament will return from its summer break for this debate.
Rutte, 56, has led four successive governments and is expected to lead VVD in new elections. By law, elections cannot be held within 90 days of a government resigning, and the summer and autumn breaks are likely to push the date forward to November.
With the issue of immigration becoming increasingly relevant, some Dutch political analysts have speculated whether Rutte could be using the issue to strengthen his own electoral position.
“Other parties in the coalition think that Rutte might have had an interest in this,” said Xander van der Wulp, political reporter for CNN affiliate and Dutch national broadcaster NOS. “That thought, migration is a good issue to break now and then start a campaign.”
