Entire Dutch Government Quits

Over a nationally televised address to the nation last Friday, The Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his entire cabinet resigned citing political responsibility over the government's welfare scandal. The scandal started when the Dutch parliament instituted new policy in order to crack down on child welfare fraud, however the policy implemented did far more harm than good for the Dutch people. When parents would apply for welfare, a simple clerical error or misfiling would result in the parents being accused of fraud and forced to backpay payments to the government, plunging them into financial ruin and while COVID-19 dominates the world.

Most of the parents affected were of immigrant backgrounds or of dual nationality. Last year, the tax office admitted that 11,000 people faced extra scrutiny on the sole basis that they had dual nationality, which further reinforces a wildly held belief among ethnic minority groups they are discriminated against through their government institutions and those in power.

At the cabinet meeting on Friday, ministers referred to the laws that allowed the perpetration of such devastation as "an unparalleled wrong". During Rutte's address, he made clear that the top priority of the government was to provide compensation for those families effected by the scandal. The victims of the scandal are expected to be compensated to the tune of about 30,000 euros. After his address on Friday and talking with reporters, Prime Minister Mark Rutte got onto his bicycle and proceeded to bike to the king's palace in order to formally inform the king of his resignation; the act was seen as largely ceremonial and symbolic. The Prime Minister accepted all blame for the disastrous scandal, stating that "the buck stops here".

The decision for the entire cabinet to resign was a unanimous one, marking since 2002 the last time the entirety of the sitting cabinet handed in resignations simultaneously to the king. The act may seem as an act of self-preservation in order to avoid losing a no-confidence vote by the MPs. Additionally, the head of the opposing Labor Party, Lodewijk Asscher, resigned as well on Thursday in part because of he was the social affairs minister under Rutte's government, which pushed Rutte to resign as he initially was opposed to the idea.

With COVID-19 still rampaging through Europe, the Netherlands have gone into lockdown and ministers are considering stricter restrictions in order to curb the spread of the disease. Furthermore, because this is such a critical time during the pandemic, Rutte and his cabinet will remain in power in a caretaker capacity before parliamentary elections take place in March. If Rutte's party wins the election, then there is the possibility that Rutte stays in power and the Prime Minister has been in power for over a decade, first taking office in October 2010. Rutte's party is still ahead in the polls which makes another Rutte government even more likely.

Mr. Rutte heads a four-party center-right-liberal coalition and his party leads the latest opinion polls, ahead of far-right leader Geert Wilders. Moreover, Rutte plans to head the Conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy leading into the March elections which are set to take place the 17th of the month, and the party is expected to win the most seats in Parliament. If the Prime Minister does maintain control has he's done for over a decade, he will be the head of three different coalitions which poises him to be first in line to create the next ruling coalition. However, Rutte made clear that whichever party wins is still up to the people of the Netherlands and he will accept their decision and his fate.