Dutch PM Announces Departure From Politics

The Hague
Just two days after the collapse of his government, Mark Rutte, the longest-serving Dutch Prime Minister, on Monday announced his departure from politics. In a brief statement prior to the debate on the fall of his fourth government in The Hague, Rutte stated that he will no longer be available as leader of his People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) in the next elections slated to take place later this year. On Saturday, the 56-year-old had announced the collapse of his government after a failure to reach an agreement on an immigration policy between the four coalition parties.
It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy. And today we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences are irreconcilable, Rutte said at a press conference. This decision is difficult for all of us and for me personally too. It is regrettable that it did not work out, he added. The four parties all believe that measures need to be taken on migration issues, but they still have disputes about the strictness of the approach. The most thorny issue is family reunification.
The VVD and the Christian Democratic Appeal insisted that a restriction on family reunification is a way to reduce the migration flow, but the Democrats 66 and Christian Union drew a red line on this. The collapse of the current government means new elections have to be planned, probably in November, according to local media reports. Rutte is the longest-serving government leader in Dutch history and the most senior in the European Union after Hungary’s Viktor Orban.