Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives by bicycle before the Council of Ministers at the Binnenhof in The Hague.
WAAL REMKO | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – The entire Dutch government collectively resigned on Friday after a scandal involving the mismanagement of daycare funds, which has led thousands of families to financial difficulties.
An investigation revealed in December that the tax authorities wrongly accused thousands of working families of fraud and ordered them to reimburse childcare benefits between 2013 and 2019. The event was described as an “unprecedented injustice” by some Dutch lawmakers.
The revelation led to the resignation on Thursday of opposition leader Lodewijk Asscher, the minister responsible for social affairs in the previous administration.
The government led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in power since 2017, decided on Friday to accept responsibility and step down collectively because of the scandal.
Rutte, speaking at a news conference, said he would continue to lead Covid-19’s emergency response with caretaker status.
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The Netherlands should already have a new parliamentary election in March, but the government’s resignation comes at a difficult time. The country is in national confinement and has had nearly 1 million Covid-19 infections and 12,875 deaths since the start of the health emergency, according to Johns Hopkins University. The Netherlands also needs to prepare a plan on how it will renew the post-pandemic economy.
Rutte had previously said that a government resignation would not be useful at this time, as the nation needs stability to deal with the pandemic, Politico said. However, this is not the first time that a Dutch administration has collectively resigned to show a common responsibility.
Families involved in this case filed charges against five politicians this week, including current finance minister Wopke Hoekstra.
Given the proximity of general elections, ministers may end up remaining in office until voters go to the polls.