Dutch ruling coalition's downfall caused by immigration, a political „hot topic”

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has resigned after the collapse of his governing coalition, as the dispute over the treatment of asylum seekers has proved intractable. As in most European countries, migration has been a hot topic on the Dutch political scene for years, coupled with all the related social and economic problems.

NETHERLANDS-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT Fotó: ROBIN UTRECHT

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte handed in his resignation during the weekend, as his coalition government collapsed following days of talks that brought no agreement on how to deal with asylum seekers arriving in the Netherlands. Mr Rutte told a press conference, that

the disagreements within the coalition on migration had proved irreconcilable and that the four parties had reached a joint conclusion that no agreement was possible.

Migration policy has been the subject of debate within the coalition for months. The liberal-conservative Free Democratic People's Party (VVD) and the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA), led by the PM Rutte, have called for restrictions on the number of asylum seekers arriving in the Netherlands, while the liberal-leaning 66 Democrats (D66) and the Christian Union Party have rejected these. One reason for the disagreement centered around the creation of a two-status system for asylum seekers, whereby they would be assigned either an „A” or a „B” status at the start of their application process. Status A would mean a permanent residence permit, while status B would be interim. The debate focused on whether persons boasting a B status would also be entitled to family reunification rights.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte announced his resignation over the weekend. Photo: Remko De Waal/ANP MAG/AFP

– This is not the first time that Mark Rutte has been forced to resign as prime minister. He also had to quit back in 2021, because of a scandal erupting over childcare subsidies. He then won re-election with his party, leading the now collapsed four-party coalition government that was re-established in 2022. Now, however, he is in a worse position, and is unlikely to command a decision-making role, if the general election was held today, Petra Halko told the daily Magyar Nemzet newspaper. The senior analyst at the 21st Century Institute added, that

the multi-party coalition governments mainly prevalent in Western Europe are telling in the sense that they reflect voters' distrust and lack of representation. On the other hand, they also foreshadow an instability and uncertainty factor in the political system.

We see the result of this today in the unfolding debate around migration in the Netherlands, which affects people's identity in one of the most profound ways. The analyst underlined that

in the Netherlands, as in most European countries, migration has been a political „hot topic” for years.

– The population is growing, albeit slightly, but this is due to migrants coming from inside and outside Europe who are being imported in a humanitarian guise to address labor market shortages. This policy, on the other hand, represents a serious economic and social burden for Dutch citizens. In addition, there have been repeated concerns about public safety and the extremely poor conditions in facilities intended to accommodate asylum seekers. This situation is generating coded ethnic tensions in society, which – at some point – will catch up with the political sphere, the analyst noted.

The recent riots in France have also shown that mass immigration has caused serious problems.

– The consensus among experts is that what we are seeing in France today is eerily similar to the Black Lives Matter movement that erupted in the United States not so long ago. On the one hand, the fact that the incoming immigrants will typically integrate into the lower stratas of society has led to the emergence of parallel communities and multicultural societies, in which the lurking negative sentiment that have been accumulating for a long time are now exploding, Ms Halko told Magyar Nemzet. She added that the problem also stems from the fact that France is facing very serious processes that have been generated artificially by past events and immutable ethnic characteristics: the so-called „revolutionary subjects” – or ethnic minorities – are encouraged to explicitly embrace extreme manifestations of anarchy as tactical self-defense against the allegedly violent social structure, namely by following the Alinsky’s theory.

Violent riots in France. Photo: Clement Mahoudeau

The aim is destabilization and dissolving public disorder. To date, there have been riots in more than 200 cities. The authorities have deployed some 45 000 police and gendarmes, hundreds of whom have been injured, while the rioters have set thousands of cars and ablaze, and looted shops and many bank branches.

I’m afraid it has to be said that the problems caused by illegal immigration have gone beyond France

– the expert said. 

As is known, the issue of mandatory quotas is back on the Brussels’ agenda, but experts say that this would not reduce illegal immigration, and would be another invitation letter for migrants. The recently adopted decision based on the mandatory redistribution of migrants is bleeding from several wounds: the EC has no mandate to make such a decision, and the idea of mandatory quotas violates the EU treaties on several points, Petra Halko stressed. She noted, that

„the European Union has become a systemic failure in terms of respecting and enforcing the law, while the most serious corruption scandals in the history of the community go unpunished.”

Therefore, the 2024 European Parliament elections do have a stake, as it’s important that EU citizens show up at the pools and vote, because it will not be a far-reaching opinion poll, the expert pointed out. – The citizens of Europe can now decide on the future direction of the EU, so that the bloc could have leaders who put the interests of the EU’s citizens first, rather than foreign interests, which is perhaps more urgent than ever, the senior analyst at 21st Century Instiute concluded.

Cover photo: Dutch PM Mark Rutte (Photo: ANP/AFP/Robin Utrecht)