[ad_1]
In his statement, Rutte acknowledged that the system was “terribly wrong.”
“The rule of law must protect its citizens from the omnipotent government, and there has been a terrible mistake here,” Rutte told a news conference, confirming that he had announced the resignation of the cabinet to King Willem Alexander.
The Dutch government has falsely accused thousands of parents of unjustifiably receiving child benefits. Many families were forced to return large sums of money by officials and caused a financial collapse.
The fact that some of the parents targeted by tax inspectors had dual citizenship also fueled long-standing criticism of systemic racism in the Netherlands.
Rutte’s cabinet decided to withdraw just two months before the next election.
General elections in the Netherlands are scheduled for March 17.
A parliamentary investigation completed in December found that officials withdrew benefits from thousands of families wrongly accused of fraud between 2013 and 2019.
The Netherlands may be left without a government during the outbreak of a new coronavirus mutation in the UK itself.
Rutte previously opposed the resignation of the cabinet, saying the country needed leadership during the pandemic.
However, he also said that after the resignation, the current cabinet could be given a temporary mandate to work until a new coalition is formed after the elections.
Ms. Rutte plans to bring her conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) to new elections, and polls suggest she can expect to win the most seats in parliament. In that case, Rutte, who has served as prime minister for a decade and led three coalitions, would once again become the main candidate to form a new governing coalition.
[ad_2]
