Long-serving Dutch PM Rutte to leave politics after next election

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte unexpectedly said on Monday he would leave politics after the upcoming election, marking the end of his run as the longest serving government leader in Dutch history.

Rutte made his announcement three days after he abruptly handed in the resignation of his fourth coalition administration, which had failed to agree on stricter immigration policies.

"In recent days there's been a lot of speculation about what motivated me. The only answer is the Netherlands," Rutte told parliament before a debate on the collapse of the government.

Also Read | Explained | Why the Dutch government led by PM Mark Rutte collapsed

"Yesterday morning I made the decision that I will not again be available as leader of the VVD (party). Once the new cabinet is formed after the election, I will leave politics."

Rutte, 56, became premier in 2010 and is the longest serving government leader in the European Union after Hungary's Viktor Orban.

He will stay on as leader of a caretaker government until a new administration is formed after the November election, a process which in the fractured Dutch political landscape usually takes months.

A caretaker government cannot decide on new policies, leaving a range of important issues, from reaching climate goals to housing and immigration, in limbo until well into 2024.

Although he still

expressed interest

in running for a fifth term on Friday night, Rutte said he had reconsidered on Sunday.

Over the weekend, the coalition partners of Rutte's conservative VVD had made it clear they largely blamed him for the cabinet crisis, as he had pressed for limits on family migration even though he knew the measures went too far for a junior partner, the Christian Union.

"I do this with mixed feelings," Rutte told reporters. "But I have made the consideration and this decision feels right."

Rutte said he didn't know what he would do once he has left The Hague, declining to say whether he would be interested in a top job at NATO, for example. "No, no, not that," Rutte said when asked. "I will leave politics."