The Netherlands announced on Friday, July 14, the holding of legislative elections on November 22 to renew Parliament and find a successor to outgoing Prime Minister, the liberal Mark Rutte, in power since 2010. On the evening of Friday, July 7 , at the end of three days of discussions, the four parties making up his coalition parted company on a statement of total disagreement about the asylum policy.
Mr. Rutte, the leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), surprised the Dutch by announcing Monday, July 10, his retirement from politics. Asked after this statement, he said: “In politics, you wonder some nights: is all this useful? A teacher should never ask himself this question. An allusion to the fact that, even at the head of various governments since 2010, Mr. Rutte has never given up giving lessons in a school in The Hague. Nicknamed “Teflon” – because of his resilience despite scandals and political crises – he said it was time to “pass the baton”.
The VVD, led by Mr. Rutte, is aiming for another term as Prime Minister and is expected to present the current Minister of Justice, of Turkish origin, Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius as head of the list in the legislative elections – herself a newcomer to the -Bas as an asylum seeker -, while a Dutch farmers’ party hopes to shake up the system.
Key government figures quit politics
Formed at the end of 2019, at the start of the peasant protest movement against plans to drastically reduce the Dutch livestock population for environmental reasons, the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) ??is the party to have won the most seats in the provincial elections of last March. This ballot also determines the constitution of the Senate, where it is now the leading political force.
November’s elections will come under scrutiny in Europe, where Mr Rutte – the EU’s second-longest-serving leader after Hungary’s Viktor Orban – allowed the Netherlands, the eurozone’s fifth-largest economy, to play in the big leagues. A pillar of European politics, Mr Rutte has had a leading role on issues ranging from the bailout of the euro zone – on which his frugal stance often put him at odds with countries in southern Europe – to the war in Ukraine.
The incumbent coalition, Mr. Rutte’s fourth since first taking office in 2010, was sworn in only after two hundred and seventy-one days of negotiations, only to collapse a year and a half later.
Several key figures in the outgoing government have announced in recent days their departure from politics or from high office within their party.
On Monday, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra declared his withdrawal from the leadership of the Christian Democratic party CDA. On Thursday, Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag said she was stepping down as leader of her left-liberal D66 party due to the impact on her family of “intimidation and threats” she had suffered . Finally, the most important minister of the small Protestant party, CU, Carola Schouten, also announced on Friday her decision to leave politics.
