The Dutch Prime Minister, Dick Schoof, will be going to the country's King Willem-Alexander to offer his government's resignation, he said on Tuesday after an extra cabinet meeting.
The fall of the Schoof government was inevitable after Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), withdrew from the coalition with the VVD, NSC and BBB on Tuesday morning. Wilders wanted new asylum measures to be taken and felt that he did not have enough support for this.
His coalition partners disagreed and expressed their indignation at Wilders' decision. The PVV was the largest of the four coalition parties.
While the PVV ministers will step down, the remaining ministers will continue as part of a "caretaker government" until new elections are held. This means that the government will remain in office to handle ongoing affairs. It is not yet known what this will look like without PVV ministers.
The independent Schoof emphatically stated that he will remain in position as outgoing prime minister. He said he wants to work with the ministers of the VVD, NSC and BBB to solve major problems, such as the international threat, the trade war with the United States and the problems in the Netherlands. "I will continue undeterred," said Schoof.
