Rutte’s fourth government collapsed earlier than his first.New elections are likely to be held this fall

Mark Rutte’s fourth government collapsed faster than previous coalitions, unable to mend the rifts created over policies to deal with the influx of asylum seekers. The Cabinet collapsed 543 days after being sworn in by the King. This was his second consecutive cabinet consisting of a coalition between VVD, D66, CDA and ChristenUnie.

New elections are likely in the fall. The exact date will be announced at a later date. After learning the news late Friday night, the opposition said they wanted elections as soon as possible.

Before new elections can be held, Prime Minister Mark Rutte must first formally submit to the king the resignation of the fourth government. King Willem-Alexander must then formally dissolve his House of Commons Tweed Kamel. Once the House of Representatives is dissolved, it also determines when candidates can stand for election. The election will take place in 44 days, according to the Electoral Commission. The entire process can take up to 3 months.

If a political party wishes to participate in new parliamentary elections, it must submit a registration request. This must be done at least 42 days before the date the Participating Party must submit the Candidate List. Political parties formed by breaking away from other factions during this term, such as Wiblen Van Haaga’s group, can register under a different name.

The big question in the next election will be whether Peter Omzigt, who has left the CDA and is a sole Tweed Comer affiliate, will launch his own party and participate in the election. He has yet to respond to the Cabinet collapse.

Rutte’s first cabinet held power for 558 days when Rutte turned to Queen Beatrix to hand in his resignation. It was a minority cabinet between the VVD and the CDA, which received generous support from Geert Wilders’ PVV. It fell after Mr. Wilders did not agree to new austerity cuts.

The second Rutte government, consisting of the VVD and PvdA, was the longest in office since World War II. Rutte III’s cabinet has completed its tenure between his 2012 and his 2017. Rutte III’s cabinet then took office on 26 October 2017 and resigned on 15 January 2021. This was in response to a child benefit scandal uncovered by the tax office using an algorithm. He falsely profiled benefits recipients and often accused them of fraud without evidence.

After World War II, there were three cabinets shorter than Rutte IV. The shortest was the first cabinet of the CDA and LPF, led by CDA member Jan Peter Balkenende. In 2002, they resigned after 86 days. The Van Agut II government, consisting of CDA, PvdA and D66, resigned after 233 days in 1982, and the first Barent Bieschubel government collapsed after 380 days in 1973. His team consisted of his ARP, KVP, CHU, VVD and DS’70.