Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the resignation of the Cabinet in a speech on Friday, saying that responsibility for the scandal “ultimately rests with the current cabinet and nowhere else.”
Under the scandal, some 10,000 families in the Netherlands have been instructed to reimburse tens of thousands of euros in subsidies after being unjustly accused of fraud in child welfare.
Rutte made his speech following the publication of a report by the Parliamentary Interrogation Committee on Aid for the Care of Children, which he called “very tough, but fair”.
“At all levels of the political-administrative-legal system, mistakes were made that resulted in great injustices for thousands of parents,” he noted.
The Dutch prime minister made it clear that financial compensation for affected parents is “the first thing that needs to be properly arranged”.
“We will continue to work towards quick compensation and the necessary improvements for the future.”
Elections for a new government will take place in mid-March, he announced, saying that until then, the current government will remain and “it is expected to do whatever is necessary in the national interest”.
Rutte has been in power for more than a decade, taking office in October 2010. If his party wins the election in two months, he could form a new government.
Addressing the Dutch people, Rutte said that “our fight against the coronavirus continues”.