Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof officially stepped down after the government fell as a result of a dispute over migration policy.
King Willem-Alexander accepted the resignation and has requested Schoof to continue in office as caretaker until a new government can be formed. New parliamentary elections will be held this autumn.
Informing MPs in The Hague on Wednesday, Schoof confirmed that the early election will proceed and is strongly endorsed throughout the spectrum of politics. “Life goes on in the Netherlands and overseas. Decisions that cannot wait must nevertheless be made,” he told parliament. The government, according to DPA, is expected to establish the date for the election as early as Thursday with elections to be held in October or November.
Government Collapses Over Policy on Migration
The government fell on Tuesday when hard-right leader Geert Wilders withdrew his ministers from the coalition government in protest at what he described as a failure to halt immigration. The move provoked stern censure from both coalition partners and opposition lawmakers.
I believe this government could have been avoided and was irresponsible,” said Schoof, an independent. “We are facing monumental national and global challenges. Now more than ever, we require leadership and decisiveness.”.
Wilders, in turn, accused his former coalition partners of being an obstacle to good reforms on immigration. “We call for a complete halt to asylum admissions. We call for strict border control. Every single one of the asylum seekers needs to be refused entry at the frontier—no exceptions,” Wilders said. “This has to be stopped at once,” he continued, warning that his party would no longer be a part of what he called “the collapse of the Netherlands,” DPA reported.
