Dutch PM Rutte says to quit politics after elections
Dutch Prime Minister
Mark Rutte said on Monday he would quit politics after the fall of his
coalition government, in a shock announcement ending the career of the
Netherlands' longest-serving leader.
Rutte, who has led four coalition governments since 2010, announced the fall of the four-party coalition on Friday due to a row over limits on numbers of asylum seekers.
"Yesterday morning, I took the decision that I am no longer suited to be the new head of the list for the VVD (his centre-right party). When the new government is sworn in after the elections, I will quit politics," Rutte told parliament.
Rutte has said he is staying on in a caretaker capacity until elections, which will not be until mid-November at the earliest.
But he faces a vote in parliament later Monday that will try to topple him as caretaker premier.
Two left-wing opposition parties and the far-right party of anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders have filed a motion of no-confidence in Rutte.
To succeed, the vote needs the support of at least one of the four parties in Rutte's coalition that fell on Friday, Dutch media said.
