Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives on his bicycle in front of the Council of Ministers at the Binnenhof in The Hague.
REMKO DE WAAL | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – The entire Dutch government collective resigned on Friday after a scandal involving mismanagement of childcare funds, which put thousands of families in financial difficulties.
An investigation in December found that tax officials falsely accused thousands of working families of fraud and ordered them to pay back childcare benefits between 2013 and 2019. The event has been described by some Dutch lawmakers as an “unprecedented injustice”.
The revelation led to the resignation of opposition leader Lodewijk Asscher, Minister of Social Affairs in the previous cabinet on Thursday.
The government led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in power since 2017, decided on Friday to take responsibility and resign collectively over the scandal.
Rutte said at a press conference that it would continue to lead the Covid-19 emergency response with caregiver status.
Covid reaction
The Netherlands was on the brink of new parliamentary elections in March, but the resignation of the government comes at a difficult time. According to Johns Hopkins University, the country has had nearly 1 million Covid-19 infections and 12,875 deaths since the onset of the medical emergency. The Netherlands must also draw up a plan on how it will revamp the economy after the pandemic.
Rutte had previously said a resignation of the government would not help at this point, as the country needs stability to cope with the pandemic, Politico reported. However, this is not the first time that a Dutch government has resigned collectively to show common responsibility.
The families involved in this case filed charges against five politicians this week, including the current Minister of Finance, Wopke Hoekstra.
Given the proximity of the general election, ministers could remain in their roles until voters go to the polls.