Rutte Coalition Falls Over Asylum Crisis as Dutch Face Vote

  • Four-term prime minister has been in office since 2010
  • Fractious governing coalition has bickered over migration

Mark Rutte 

Photographer: Ksenia Kuleshova/Bloomberg
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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government collapsed over a migration policy dispute, pointing the Netherlands toward an early election as soon as this fall.

Rutte, who has led the government since 2010, said several days of talks within his four-party coalition failed to overcome “too irreconcilable” differences. The cabinet will stay on in a caretaker capacity and continue to support Ukraine in its military response to Russia’s invasion, he said.