#THENETHERLANDS: PM Rutte Unveils Fourth Cabinet

[world politics news]

Prime Minister Mark Rutte has unveiled his choices for the fourth cabinet he has seated since he was first elected prime minister. 

It includes several new faces, largely from his own party, the VVD (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy) including Senator Eric van der Burg, a former alderman and ex-acting mayor of Amsterdam, who will be the new State Secretary for Asylum and Migration and will succeed Ankie Broekers-Knol.

Opposition Party for Freedom Leader Geert Wilders lost no time in eviscerating Van der Burg, noting on Twitter his 2017 comments about immigrants:

"The man who said: The more asylum seekers the better." (Parool, March 30, 2017) The VVD has gone mad. Pure betrayal."

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: PM Rutte Faces Confidence Vote After Botched Cabinet Talks

[world politics news]

 

A debate that could seal the political fate of recently re-elected Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte went on well past midnight

on Friday, after politicians from all sides of parliament accused him of lying over remarks made during talks to form a cabinet.

Rutte faced the biggest challenge to his leadership in a decade as the opposition presented a no-confidence motion, with a vote to directly follow the debate.Rutte was the clear winner of last month’s parliamentary elections, seen as a referendum on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Losing a vote of confidence would force him to tender his resignation to King Willem-Alexander.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: PM Rutte's Party Wins Election, Right Gains Seats

[world politics news]

 
Prime Minister Mark Rutte's political party won the most seats in the Dutch parliament, according to a preliminary forecast by ANP news agency based on a count of 88.5% of the votes.

The liberal party Democrats 66 (D66) came in second in ANP's forecast with 24 seats, an increase of five seats compared to 2017.

The Party for Freedom, a right-wing nationalist party, was set to win 17 seats, which would be three seats fewer than they won four years ago.

The Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) was expected to gain 15 seats compared to their previous 19 seats in parliament in 2017.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: Gov't Of PM Rutte Resigns Over Child Benefits Scandal

[world politics news] 

The Dutch government has resigned amid an escalating scandal over child benefits in which more than 20,000 families were wrongly accused of fraud by the tax authority.

The move came less than a month before parliament was due to break up ahead of general elections scheduled for March 17. Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet is to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new coalition is formed after that vote. Rutte said "mistakes were made" in handling the scandal, and took full responsibility.

It remains to be seen whether opposition parties can take advantage of the scandal.

Polls suggest Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy will win a fourth term in the election, with public opinion still largely backing him. The center-right party is polling at just under 30% of the vote, more than twice that of the second-place party, Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: Populist Party Stuns Establishment In Election; PM's Party Loses Senate Majority

[world politics news]

The governing center-right coalition of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has lost its senate majority after a populist party surged in provincial elections.

Forum for Democracy won most votes and secured more seats in the upper house than Rutte's People's Party. The party holds two seats in parliament after entering politics just three years ago. It will have 13 seats in the Senate, one more than Rutte’s party.

Forum for Democracy Party leader Thierry Baudet, 36, has bitterly criticized Rutte's immigration policies. The party Forum is projected to win 12 percent of the Dutch votes in the European Parliament election in May.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: Dutch PM Calls UK "A Waning Country" That "Is Too Small" Without European Union

[world politics news]

Britain is a “waning country” and too small to stand alone on the world stage, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has claimed in a withering assessment of the UK’s exit from the EU. Rutte, who has emerged as a key player in the talks over the past two years.

It was yet another insult from an EU spokesman that is likely to raise anti-EU feeling in the UK, following remarks by EU Pres. Donald Tusk a week ago, in which he said there's a "special place in hell" for Brexiteers who didn't plan ahead (which was taken as an insult by many ordinary UK voters who backed Brexit) and last month, EU chief Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt claimed if the UK leaves, one day it will be led back into the EU "where it belongs."

"Who will be left weakened by Brexit is the United Kingdom," he said. "It is already weakening, it is a waning country compared to two or three years ago. It is going to become an economy of middling size in the Atlantic Ocean. It is neither the US nor the EU. It is too small to appear on the world stage on its own."

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: Geert Wilders' Pty Could Be Invited Into Coalition Gov't As Major Pty Talks Fail

[world politics news]

Photos have shown Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders arriving at the nation's legislature as negotiations between prime minister Mark Rutte and the Greens to form a coalition government have stalled, mainly over immigration policy. The outspoken anti-immigrant politician and his party were frozen out of talks after all mainstream parties refused to work with him, despite winning the second-largest number of seats in the recent Dutch election.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#THENETHERLANDS: Geert Wilders' Party Falls Short; Beaten By Pro-EU Prime Minister Rutte

[world politics news]

Dutch anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders' party fell short of expectations Wednesday, beaten by pro-EU Prime Minister Mark Rutte. While Wilders' Party for Freedom gained four seats over their 2012 results, it was not enough, and while Rutte's Freedom and Democracy Party lost 25% of their pre-election seats in parliament, the 31 they kept are enough, with allied parties, to stay in power. The two main pro-EU parties, D66 and GreenLeft, gained 7 seats and 12 seats respectively.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#NETHERLANDS: PM Rutte Warns UK: Will "Pay Heavy Price" For Brexit; Wilders Goes On The Attack

[world politics news]

Speaking at the Davos, Switzerland Economic Forum, Dutch PM Mark Rutte warned UK PM Theresa May that her nation would "pay a heavy price" for leaving the EU. May is seeking a break with the economic bloc within two years, after last years "Brexit" vote in the UK. Rutte is facing a stiff electoral challenge from local Euro-skeptic Geert Wilders, who tweeted that Rutte had "no spine" and was the [Neville] Chamberlain of Holland and would be "out of office soon."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#THENETHERLANDS: Dutch PM Rutte Warns #EU "No Business As Usual" After Brexit

[world politics news]

Prime Minister Mark Rutte has urged the European Union to hold talks on its future without the United Kingdom, warning Brussels that it cannot go back to ‘business as usual’ after Brexit. In a message posted on Facebook, Rutte said he had discussed the Netherlands’ relations with the UK on the phone with new British prime minister Theresa May, assuring her that relations between the two nations will remain strong after Brexit.

#THENETHERLANDS: PM Angrily Denies Cover-Up Over Downing Of Plane Over Ukraine

[world politics news]

Prime Minister Mark Rutte has reacted angrily to opposition politicians accusing the government of secrecy and a cover-up in the wake of the downed MH17. The Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down in eastern Ukraine in July, 2014, during its conflict with Russia-backed separatists. All 298 people on board died.

#THENETHERLANDS: Prime Minister Rutte Attacks "Me" Mentality; Laziness In State-Run Institutions

[world politics news]

PM Mark Rutte has criticised a 'big fat me mentality' growing in The Netherlands in a speech to People's Party members. Rutte, head of the pro-business party, attacked bankers' demand for higher pay (saying they should leave for London) and the ‘loutishness and egoism' found in taxpayer-supported institutions.