2023-07-10 08:54:52
After the government coalition in the Netherlands burst, Prime Minister Mark Rutte no longer wants to run for a fifth term. The longest-serving head of government in the country’s history announced on Monday that he would retire following the new elections in November. The 56-year-old Rutte had previously stated that he would like to run once more, but that would depend on his conservative VVD party.
“In the past few days there has been a lot of speculation regarding what motivated me. The only answer is the Netherlands,” Rutte said in a speech in parliament ahead of a debate on the collapse of the government. “Yesterday morning I made the decision that I will no longer be available as chairman of the VVD. As soon as the new cabinet is formed following the election, I will leave politics.”
Rutte’s four-party centre-right coalition collapsed on Friday over disputes over family reunification for asylum seekers. Rutte’s party wanted families to wait at least two years before being reunited, which coalition partners rejected. At the weekend, they largely blamed him for the government crisis.
Rutte became Prime Minister in 2010 and is the longest-serving head of government in the European Union following Viktor Orban in Hungary.
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