Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders, and his cabinet resigned on Friday over a report highlighting his government’s systematic failure to protect thousands of families from overzealous tax inspectors.
Mr Rutte and his cabinet will continue to lead the government as caretakers. The general elections are planned for March. His center-right party is currently leading the polls. The other parties in his coalition that were also affected by the scandal are not expected to call for earlier elections because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Mistakes have been made at all levels that have resulted in great injustice for thousands of families. Innocent people were criminalized and their lives were destroyed, “said Rutte in a press conference. “This cabinet has taken full responsibility.” Mr Rutte said the report that led to the downfall of the cabinet was “tough as nails” but “fair”.
Mr Rutte submitted his resignation and that of his entire cabinet after cycling to see King Willem-Alexander van Oranje. He had served his third term as Prime Minister and had headed the Netherlands since 2010. If his party receives the largest share of the vote in the upcoming election, he can take up a fourth term.
The report, the result of an investigation that also interviewed Mr Rutte, concluded that innocent families had suffered “unprecedented injustice”, some of whom were forced to repay large amounts of childcare benefits immediately.
In many cases, an administrative error such as a missing signature was enough for the tax authority to label parents as fraudsters and fine families with up to tens of thousands of euros, the report says.
“Basic principles of the rule of law have been violated,” she concluded, blowing up both government and parliament for creating “rock-hard laws” that had little room for individual cases to be fairly considered.
The chairman of the parliamentary committee that led the investigation, Chris van Dam, said the system put in place to track down benefit fraud is “a mass process with no room for nuance”.
In a separate investigation, the Dutch data protection authority came to the conclusion that tax inspectors had discriminated against citizens with dual nationalities.
Former Vice President of the Dutch State Council, Herman Tjeenk Willink, added to the allegations of systematic failure by calling on parliamentarians to also take responsibility for voting in the strict laws.
“You should look yourself in the mirror,” he wrote in a comment in the NRC Handelsblad, “and question your own role in the matter.”
Insiders expected that Mr. Rutte would easily shake off any criticism. “Yes, it’s a shame this happened under Rutte’s responsibility,” said Joost Vullings, a political commentator, “but if anyone knows how not to be ashamed, it’s our prime minister.” He will go all out to win the upcoming elections. ”
Mr Rutte said last month that the tax campaign described in the December report was “shameful” and that the government had announced that nearly 10,000 families will receive compensation of € 30,000 or about $ 36,500 each. Earlier this week, Mr Rutte insisted that the government should not resign as it could weaken the nation’s response to the pandemic.
The Netherlands has been grappling with the coronavirus since March, and its inability to contain the spread of the disease has highlighted what many are calling systemic problems with overregulation. Like many countries in Europe, the Netherlands is also blocked.
A November report ranked the government as one of the world’s leading tax havens for large companies, so the persecution of individuals for relatively small amounts did not go unnoticed.
This duality and others in Dutch politics underscore the drawbacks of the Dutch polder model, a system where every important decision is reviewed by every institution, representative or even person involved. The result is always a compromise.
“This matter is an example of a systematic error that has emerged from our coalition policy where each party scores points for its own supporters,” said Sheila Sitalsing, a commentator for de Volkskrant, “but the final compromise can no longer be implemented . ” for those who have to work with it every day. ”
Ms. Sitalsing also said voters have been rewarding politicians who promise stricter rules for two decades. “So that’s what you get,” she said of the child benefit scandal.
Families referred to by the tax authority on Tuesday increased pressure on Mr Rutte by asking his cabinet to step down in an open letter published in the Trouw newspaper.
“What needs to be done is clear: everything should be fixed and cleaned up,” said a group of families. “We don’t think the current cabinet is capable of that.”
In a move that is unique in the Netherlands, the families filed criminal charges this week against five politicians, including Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra and Economy Minister Eric Wiebes, for their role in the matter. If convicted, they face up to six months in prison.
“We have brought criminal charges because the victims I represent have been ruined. Some became homeless as a result of these guidelines. These politicians have been extremely negligent, ”said Vasco Groeneveld, a lawyer who represents 20 victims. “Every time I open your files, shivers run down my spine. These people were treated terribly. “
Mr Wiebes, who was finance minister in a previous cabinet, will resign immediately and not stay in the caretaker government, NOS reported.
On Thursday, opposition leader Lodewijk Asscher, a former minister of social affairs, resigned for his role as leader of the Dutch Labor Party. His resignation increased the pressure on Mr. Rutte to reconsider his position.
