agencies
amsterdam
The Netherlands’ long-serving prime minister, Mark Rutte, has announced that he will retire from politics and will not stand as a candidate in a new election called after his coalition government collapsed.
Rutte’s fourth government had been in office since the beginning of 2022. Rutte, from the liberal conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), had been prime minister for almost 13 years.
His four-party coalition fell apart on Friday evening in a dispute over migration policy. The sticking point in the crisis meeting that led to the break-up of the government was a restriction on family reunification for refugees already in the country.
Rutte declared his withdrawal from politics at the start of a parliamentary debate on the political situation. He said it was a personal decision.
“Once the new cabinet takes over after the elections, I will leave politics,” said Rutte, adding that he had already informed party and parliamentary leaders.
“This is a personal decision and is independent of developments over the last few weeks,” he said.
“This debate has to be about our country,” he said before the start of the session, during which the opposition had planned to table a motion of no confidence in the prime minister.
Until the events of last Friday, Rutte was seen as one of the wiliest survivors in European politics, even earning the nickname of “Teflon Mark”.
During his time as prime minister since 2010, he has become renowned for his ability to emerge from political scandals with his reputation intact.
The date of a new election has not yet been set, but it is likely to take place in November.
With the country’s leadership up in the air, some fear that the work of the government could stagnate, even as the Netherlands tackles the migration question, as well as a housing shortage, the transition to renewable energy and climate policy.
