Dutch Government Collapses Amid Deadlock Over Immigration Policy
It has not been a good month for the WEF private jet-setting globalists: first the French riots, and now the (latest) fall of the government of Dutch PM Mark Rutte, and what makes this an especially painful drubbing is that it was over an issue near and dear to the billionaire globalists' heart: immigration.
On Friday, the Dutch government collapsed after it failed to reach a decision how to limit the flow of asylum-seekers into the country. The crisis boiled over after Rutte's government realized it couldn’t progress beyond a stalemate over a plan proposed by the prime minister's conservative VVD party to separate refugee families and limit the number of migrants entering the Netherlands, which two of his four-party government coalition refused to support.
"It's no secret that the coalition partners have differing opinions about immigration policy. Today we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences have become insurmountable. Therefore I will tender the resignation of the entire cabinet to the king," Rutte said in a televised news conference.
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. News agency ANP, citing the national elections committee, said elections would not be held before mid-November. A caretaker government cannot decide on new policies, but Rutte said it would not affect the country's support for Ukraine.
Friday's collapse followed two days of late-night meetings between the coalition over the issue of immigration, which - like at all other Western nations - has put a strain on the already densely populated country’s housing infrastructure.
The Netherlands already has a one of Europe's toughest immigration policies but under the pressure of right-wing parties, Rutte had for months been trying to seek ways to further reduce the inflow of asylum seekers.
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.
As the Post reports, among the various proposals considered by the coalition was the creation of 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. However, 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.
The immigration issue has become a key political concern and will likely be a focal point in the new election cycle. More than 21,500 non-Europeans sought asylum in the Netherlands in 2022, but that pales to what is coming: asylum applications in the country are projected to surpass 70,000 this year, topping the previous record high of 2015.
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.
The Netherlands is now suffering the consequences that scandal-ridden Geert Wilders of the Party for Freedom warned about many years ago, and who was mocked and isolated by the establishment despite his widespread popular support.
Rutte’s coalition will continue serving until the next election, which might not be held before mid-November, News agency ANP reported. But don't he will be back. After all, this will be the third time his government has collapsed; the first time was in 2012 over disagreements about austerity measures, and then again in 2021 when he resigned over a childcare subsidy debacle.
Rutte, 56, is the longest-serving government leader in Dutch history and the most senior in the EU after Hungary's Viktor Orban. He is expected to lead his VVD party again at the next elections.
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