THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Netherlands’ longest serving premier, said Monday he will leave politics after a general election sparked by his government’s resignation.
Rutte, the leader of the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, announced his decision at a hastily arranged parliamentary debate.
“Yesterday morning I made a decision that I will not be available again as a leader of the VVD. When a new Cabinet takes office after the elections, I will leave politics,” he said.
Rutte’s four-party ruling coalition resigned Friday after failing to agree on a package of measures to rein in migration.
No date has yet been set for the election.
