Mark Rutte Dutch caretaker cabinet announces election in November

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Sunday, July 16, 2023

Rutte in São Paulo, Brazil on May 8.
Image: Governo do Estado de São Paulo.

Following Interior Minister Hanke Bruins Slot's recommendation, an election is to take place in the Netherlands on November 22, Prime Minister Mark Rutte's caretaker government announced Friday, a week after it resigned over disagreement on asylum policy.

The Farmer–Citizen Movement ((nl))Dutch language: ‍BoerBurgerBeweging, under Caroline van der Plas, led Politico polling for the election as of July 1.

Rutte, leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ((nl))Dutch language: ‍Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie and in his fourth consecutive term as Prime Minister, handed his resignation to King Willem-Alexander on July 8. He later announced his departure from politics altogether, saying it was a personal decision not influenced by the government's collapse.

The VVD, with the Christian Democratic Appeal ((nl))Dutch language: ‍Christen-Democratisch Appèl's (CDA) support, proposed limiting, according to the Agence France-Presse, the influx of children of refugees in the Netherlands, and keeping refugee families separated for a minimum of two years; the Christian Union ((nl))Dutch language: ‍ChristenUnie and Democrats 66 ((nl))Dutch language: ‍Democraten 66 parties expressed opposition.

In February, the CDA proposed a system distinguishing temporary refugees, who would be granted asylum for one to three years — extendable if they fled a war and it continued for over three years, and permanent refugees.

Applications for asylum in the Netherlands increased by a third in 2022, surpassing 46,000.


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