Worthy Christian News > World News > Netherlands Government Collapses Over Migration Row

Netherlands Government Collapses Over Migration Row

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (Worthy News) – Dutch Liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s coalition government collapsed after just a year and a half in office on Friday in a row over measures to curb the massive flow of asylum seekers in the Netherlands. New elections will now be held, probably in the autumn.

“The differences are unbridgeable. I will offer the resignation of the entire cabinet to the King [Willem-Alexander],” Rutte told reporters.

The four ruling parties were unable to find agreement in crisis talks chaired by Prime Minister Rutte with the ChristenUnie (ChristianUnion) and Democraten ‘66 (Democrats ‘66) opposing Rutte’s move to limit the reunification of families of war refugees, Worthy News monitored.

Last year, hundreds of asylum-seekers were forced to sleep outdoors in squalid conditions near an overcrowded reception center in the northern village of Ter Apel as the number of people arriving in the Netherlands outstripped the available beds. Dutch and International aid agencies provided assistance as a baby died in the chaos.

For the first time in its history, Medecins sans Frontieres or ‘Doctors without Borders’ was among those providing humanitarian aid in the Netherlands, long seen as one of the world’s most wealthy nations.

Rutte last year said he felt “ashamed” of the problems, referring to the humanitarian group’s involvement. To avoid similar situations this summer, the coalition had tried for months to agree on a deal to reduce the flow of new migrants fleeing war persecution and poverty arriving in the country of nearly 18 million people.

Proposals reportedly included reducing the number of family members allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands. Additionally, there was a plan two create two classes of asylum — a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution, including Christians.

LIMITING ASYLUM SEEKERS

Rutte’s conservative liberal VVD party had been pushing to limit the flow of asylum seekers to the Netherlands, which split his four-party government coalition when two parties refused to support his proposals.

They said stricter measures were needed as asylum applications in the Netherlands jumped by a third last year to over 46,000. The government had projected they could increase to more than 70,000 this year – topping the previous high of 2015 when Europe faced a significant refugee crisis.

Tensions came to a head this week when Rutte demanded support for a proposal to limit entrance for children of war refugees who are already in the Netherlands and to make families wait at least two years before they can be united.

That proved too much for the CU and ‘D’66 parties. “It’s a sad day,” Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said. “We have talked for a long time, but we have failed to reach agreement.”

The latest crisis was another challenge to the 56-year-old Rutte, one of Europe’s longest-serving government leaders.

Rutte’s current coalition, which came to power in January 2022, was his fourth consecutive administration since he became prime minister in October 2010.
He is also the longest-serving prime minister in the history of the Netherlands despite numerous scandals.

The leader of a new farmers’ party said in a reaction to the crisis that she believes she could win the next elections following the cabinet’s collapse. Caroline van der Plas, whose BBB or BoerBurgerBeweging (FarmerCitizen Movement) recently became the largest party in the Senate, said she is ready to be prime minister when asked, “But it’s not my first ambition.”