On Friday, just two months before the country conducts its national elections, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, alongside his cabinet, submitted their resignation to King Willem-Alexander. This comes following reports that his government’s tax department wrongly tagged parents as “fraudsters” while they attempted to claim benefits for their children. While making the announcement at a publicly televised event, he said, “We are of one mind that if the whole system has failed, we all must take responsibility, and that has led to the conclusion that I have just offered the king the resignation of the entire Cabinet.” He admitted that his government were “not up to standard” and that “mistakes were made at every level of the state.”
Rutte’s decision comes in response to a report titled “Unprecedented Justice,” which was presented before the Parliament last month. The inquiry concluded that the tax authorities have violated “fundamental principles of the rule of law” while dealing with applications of around 26,000 Dutch parents who claimed child welfare services. The inquiry committee also raised concern about the manner in which the information was provided by the government to the country’s Parliament. The report concluded that due to the actions of the government officials, several Dutch parents had been wrongfully “plunged into debt,” which led to “unemployment, bankruptcy and divorce.”
Consequently, following Rutte’s announcement about the resignation, the government has pledged $607 million to 20,000 affected parents. The government also vowed to undertake major reforms in the child welfare system. An official from the Dutch government said, “Everything is aimed at offering the parents and their children a new start in life.”
The scandal attracted widespread criticism from the country’s opposition leader. Geert Wilders, the leader of the largest opposition party in the Parliament in the Netherlands said, “Innocent people have been criminalised, their lives destroyed and parliament was informed about it inaccurately and incompletely.” However, he applauded Rutte’s and his cabinet’s decision to resign. Moreover, twenty families have also decided to initiate legal action against the government’s ministers for criminal negligence.
This comes as the Netherlands continues to struggle to contain the rampant COVID-19 outbreak in its territory. The country is currently under a nationwide lockdown, which is expected to be in place till at least February 9. However, Rutte’s decision is entirely symbolic, as he will continue to head the government and discharge his duties as the country’s premier until the March 17 elections. Rutte has held this position for over a decade and his party, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, is expected to win the upcoming elections too. Hence, he has reassured the people of Netherlands that the government will continue to work towards containing the pandemic. “Our struggle against the coronavirus will continue,” Rutte said.
With this decision, the Netherlands is now the third European country to face a major existential threat to its political stability amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Just last week, Estonia’s Prime Minister, Juris Ratas, resigned after key officials from his party were caught in a corruption scandal. Italy, too, faces a political crisis as the country’s premier Giuseppe Conte’s government collapsed following the departure of one the parties from the ruling coalition.
Dutch PM Rutte and Cabinet Resign Over Child Welfare Scandal
After reports emerged that the Netherlands' child welfare payments system had incorrectly tagged several parents as “fraudsters”, PM Mark Rutte and his cabinet submitted their resignation.
January 19, 2021
SOURCE: REUTERS