Limit the influx of refugees, liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) said last week. But the Christian Union said no, and the Dutch cabinet fell. Also, Rutte leaves the political arena after 12 years.
The Dutch coalition attempted to agree on the refugee crisis in the Netherlands. The liberal VVD party wanted to limit the family reunion of asylum seekers and thus reduce the number of people travelling to the Netherlands. However, the Christian Union argued that this regulation would be inhumane, as parents and children could be separated for a long time. The disagreement between the two parties seems to have been the key to the end of the coalition, the Nederlands Dagblad writes.
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Distinction
Prime Minister Rutte wanted to create a distinction between refugees who flee for war and those who leave their country for political reasons, such as religious persecution. The former should only have limited rights to family reunions, in which other relatives travel to the Netherlands as well, his party said, supported by the Christian Democratic Party (CDA).
However, the Christian Union blocked this measure. As a 'family party', it said that it could not approve and that “wide possibilities for family reunion” were crucial to it.
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For sale
“I have not given up on what I stand for”, says Christian Union leader Mirjam Bikker in an interview with the Nederlands Dagblad. “We continually told Rutte that underage children must grow up with their parents”, she points out. “Yet, they continually proposed to limit these rights. We were ready to compromise on other measures because we needed to act on the migration issue. But concerning family reunions, we always said: we won't do it.”
According to Bikker, “principles are not for sale,” and she will not give up what is valuable to her party: children belong with their parents.
