Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte has officially announced his retirement from politics on Monday, following the recent collapse of his coalition government. This decision marks the end of Rutte’s 17-year leadership of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and his 12-year tenure as prime minister. Rutte expressed mixed feelings about his departure, stating that although he deeply values his team, it feels like the right choice. On Friday, Rutte expressed the desire to continue leading the VVD, but circumstances have led to a change of plans.
The collapse of Rutte’s VVD-led coalition government occurred due to a disagreement over a proposed monthly cap on the number of relatives allowed to join existing asylum seekers in the Netherlands. Despite Rutte’s efforts to gain support for the policy, center-leaning and pro-family parties within the coalition refused to back the initiative. In response, Rutte formally resigned from his position to King Willem-Alexander at his Huis ten Bosch residence in The Hague on Saturday.
While Rutte will serve as a caretaker leader until November’s elections, he has made it clear that he is not interested in pursuing major international leadership roles, such as European Commission president or NATO secretary general, despite speculations about his potential candidacy. In a parliamentary debate on Monday regarding the fall of Rutte’s cabinet, opposition parties praised Rutte’s contributions but called for his immediate replacement with a fresh leader from outside the VVD. The proposal for his departure requires support from at least one of the coalition parties to pass.
Amidst the political discussions, Rutte’s career received recognition for his leadership during the MH17 tragedy in 2014, where Russian separatist forces shot down Malaysian Airlines’ MH17 over Ukraine. He was applauded for his support and involvement in the matter.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
