Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
The government of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his collective resignation on Friday (Jan. 15), two months before the country’s general elections, over the misapplication of the child welfare system.
Rutte, who has been prime minister since 2010, today submitted his letter of resignation to King Willem-Alexander and then held a press conference.
The Netherlands is currently governed by a four-party coalition, including Prime Minister Rutte’s traditionally right-wing Liberal Democratic Party, the Christian Democratic Union, the June 6 Democratic Party and the Christian Coalition, which was founded in 2000.
Dutch PM calls scandal ‘shameful’
The Dutch tax authorities allege that some tens of thousands of families fraudulently received child benefit payments between 2013 and 2019. An investigation by the Dutch parliament found that this was a false allegation.
In “recovering” tens of thousands of euros from these families, the tax office caused many of them to fall into financial crisis and even lose their jobs, go bankrupt or get divorced.
The congressional report called it “an unprecedented injustice” because the families were asked to pay back tens of thousands of euros without having a chance to prove their innocence.
Describing the incident as “shameful,” Rutte told reporters Friday that “the rule of law must protect its citizens from an all-powerful government, which is completely wrong.”
With the Netherlands due to hold general elections on March 17, Rutte said the current government will continue to lead the country’s response to the Chinese Communist virus (COVID-19) team as a “caretaker”.
Opposition parties welcome
Jesse Klaver, leader of the left-wing Dutch Green Party, took to Twitter on Friday to welcome the government’s resignation, saying it was the “right decision.
“Let this be a new beginning, a turning point.” He wrote that it was either “our moment to rebuild the welfare state.”
On Thursday, the leader of the opposition Labor Party, Lodewijk Asscher, announced his resignation, putting enormous pressure on Rutte to lead a four-party coalition.
Asscher, a veteran Dutch politician who served as social affairs minister from 2012 to 2017, offered his resignation saying the tax authorities had wrongly tracked thousands of families without his “knowledge.”
“The enormous pressure was one of the reasons for my divorce.”
This week, the families filed charges against five politicians, including Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra and Economy Minister Eric Wiebes, for mismanagement.
Deutsche Welle reports that Roger Derikx, 46, is a chef and father of two. He was asked by the tax office to pay back 60,000 euros.
He says this enormous pressure was one of the reasons for his divorce, “The tax office is very powerful, they squeeze you dry without inviting the courts.” “They (tax people) came to my house and took my refrigerator, they took my car, they took 40 percent of my salary.” He said.
The current solution from the Dutch government is to compensate the roughly 10,000 Dutch families with at least 30,000 euros ($36,400).
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