The fall of the Dutch government due to the dispute over asylum policy, and the king returns from abroad | outside

look. The Dutch government met until 2am last night to reach an agreement on asylum rules

The fall of the government has been in the air for days. The final crisis meeting took place in The Hague on Friday where a compromise proposal from the Secretary of State for Asylum, Erik van der Burgh, was discussed. Dutch media reported that this came to nothing, meaning that Rutte IV’s government would end after 543 days.

The Dutch news agency ANP reported, based on various sources, that Cristenoni, the smallest party in the coalition, had taken the initiative to bring down the government. The position of the liberal party in VD, Prime Minister Rutte’s party, is said to have played an important role in this. But the Dutch Prime Minister denies this, saying: “It is a unanimous decision.” Rutte emphasized that the four parties had jointly come to the conclusion that there was no point in continuing the talk.

Rutte has significantly increased pressure on the coalition government this week by placing additional requirements on the asylum package. The proposal to limit the possibility of family reunification was hard for the Christian Union to swallow. In any case, Rutte does not blame himself for anything, except that “he could have presented his objections in a more friendly manner.” “This is not the cause of the government’s downfall,” Rutte said. Other parties refer to the leader of the VVD. CDA chairman Peter Herma called his stance reckless and “irresponsibly cruel”.

At 9:30 p.m., an additional cabinet was called, the Dutch government information service said. Then Prime Minister Rutte spoke to the press. Rutte said at the press conference that the differences between the coalition parties in the field of immigration have proven to be insurmountable. He described the situation as “unfortunate, but the political reality we cannot ignore.” “It is unfortunate that this separation in the middle of the road prevents us from finishing the work,” he said of the collaboration in the coalition.

The Secretary of State for Asylum, Eric van der Burgh, is disappointed that there is no asylum agreement. He finds it particularly disturbing to all the people who have been working for months to ensure adequate reception spaces for asylum seekers. I promised them an asylum deal.

Van der Burgh has the idea that “everything is removed” for the immigration agreement. He also presented proposals on Friday to bridge the gap between the four coalition parties. “But I noticed that it didn’t work out.” According to him, there was no will, but there was an “unbridgeable gap.”

It’s frustrating. “I am disappointed that there is no agreement.” When asked whether VVD leader and Prime Minister Mark Rutte had put undue pressure on the negotiations, he did not want to comment. “Stay away from partisan politics.”

There has not been a cabinet headed by Mark Rutte for as short a period as the fourth, which is what caught up in the asylum problem. The fall came 543 days after he was sworn in by the king. His second cabinet was made up of the VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie.

New elections are likely to take place sometime in the fall. It won’t happen before mid-November, the Electoral Council says. Getting ready to go to the polls takes time. For example, new parties must be given the opportunity to register, parties need time to compile lists of candidates and municipalities must arrange polling stations. The exact moment of the new elections will be announced at a later date. They learned later on Friday evening that the opposition wanted elections to be held as soon as possible.

Before calling new elections, Prime Minister Mark Rutte must first formally submit the resignation of his fourth government to the King. He said during the press conference that Rota was going to do so in writing on Friday evening. On Saturday, Rutte will update King. For this, the king must return from abroad.

Willem-Alexander must then formally dissolve the Chamber of Deputies. When the House of Representatives is dissolved, it will also decide when candidates can stand for election. The vote will take place after 44 days, according to the Electoral Council. The entire process takes up to three months.

Opposition parties are happy with the fall of the Rutte IV government. “What was your view when the government fell?” BBB front lady Caroline van der Plas tweeted a photo of herself smiling. “Bye Roti, Kaj and the rest!” writes PVV leader Geert Wilders. He says he asked for a parliamentary debate and writes that he now wants elections soon.

On Monday, the House of Representatives will hold a discussion session on the fall of the government. We’ve been working on a whole bunch of procedures. There has been no agreement on that yet. “The family reunion was an important part of that,” Rutte said. According to him, D66 and ChristenUnie consider it “very important that family reunification is always possible”. Rutte said CDA and VVD agree in principle. If the asylum pressure is too great, you should consider temporary restrictions on family members, according to the outgoing prime minister. Rutte said it was about two conflicting opinions.