Dutch coalition building must reboot after Rutte rebuke

Dutch coalition building must reboot after Rutte rebuke

SeattlePI.com

Published

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte needs a political reboot only two weeks after a major election victory because new questions about his trustworthiness are undermining the process of forming a new coalition government.

Rutte, who has been in power for more than a decade and is seeking to build his fourth governing coalition, narrowly survived a no-confidence motion in the early hours of the morning after a marathon debate in parliament in which he claimed to not remember talking about a critical Christian Democrat lawmaker. Rutte last week publicly denied discussing the lawmaker at all.

Opposition lawmakers accused prime minister of lying and of wrecking public trust in the country’s politicians.

Rutte denied lying and vowed to work hard to rebuild trust. He plans to continue looking to form a new coalition, but that could prove difficult after two of the key parties he would seek to enlist tabled a motion of censure against him that was supported by a large majority in the 150-seat lower house of parliament.

“I have gotten the message and taken it to heart,” said Rutte, who is sometimes called the Teflon premier for his ability to avoid scandals sticking to him.

It was a stunning fall from grace for Rutte, coming just over two weeks after his conservative party won the most seats in parliament in the election, putting him in line to become the country’s longest-serving prime minister if he can create a new coalition.

If he wants to achieve the feat, he will have to mend bridges first.

“My trust in Mr. Rutte has been seriously dented today,” Sigrid Kaag, leader of the centrist D66 party told Parliament in the early hours of Friday. “The distance between him and me is wider. I regret that.”

D66 finished second in the...

Full Article