By Katherine Donlevy | New York Post
Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks at a press conference after the collapse of the Dutch government following a push to by the conservative party to limit the flow of asylum seekers to the Netherlands.Getty Images
The Dutch government collapsed Friday after failing to reach a decision on how to mitigate its overwhelming stream of asylum-seekers.
The crisis arose after the government realized it couldn’t progress beyond a stalemate over Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s conservative VVD party’s plan to separate refugee families and limit the number of migrants entering the Netherlands.
Rutte, the longest-service premier of the nation, resigned in the wake of the collapse, but will remain in office until a new prime minister is chosen.
“It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy. And today, unfortunately, we have to draw the conclusion that those differences are irreconcilable,” Rutte said during a press conference.
“That is why I will immediately … offer the resignation of the entire Cabinet to the king in writing”
The collapse followed two days of late-night meetings between the coalition over the issue of immigration, which has put a strain on the already densely populated country’s housing infrastructure
The four-party coalition had been trying to hash out a deal for months on how to handle the dramatic influx of thousands of migrants seeking refuge, including from African nations and Ukraine.
Among the many proposals, the coalition considered creating two classes of asylum — a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution — and capping the number of family members allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands.
Rutte had been pushing for a controversial proposal that would limit the entrance of children of war refugees already in the country and make families wait at least two years before they can be united.
Centrist parties D66 and Christian Union said the suggested policy went too far and rejected all plans that supported a strict crackdown on migration.
After several nights without progress, the parties decided unanimously that they could not reach an agreement on the issue and could no longer remain together in the coalition.
Rutte’s coalition will continue serving until the next election, which might not be held before mid-November, News agency ANP reported.
The intense immigration issue will continue to be a focal point in the new election cycle.
More than 21,500 non-Europeans sought asylum in the Netherlands in 2022, according to the country’s statistics office.
Asylum applications in the country are projected to surpass 70,000 this year — marking a record-breaking high.
Last year, the country’s reception center turned refugees away from its overcrowded housing complexes, forcing them to sleep outside in squalid conditions.
Hundreds of the homeless asylum-seekers were left with little or no access to drinking water, sanitary facilities or health care.
