Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Netherlands’ longest-serving prime minister, said on Monday he would step down as leader of his party and retire from politics in the coming months after his contract expired last week.
Mr. Rutte came to power in 2010 and received the nickname “Teflon Mark” for his ability to weather political storms, but the failure of four parties in his coalition. to agree on the principles of international migration they set up an election process in the fall.
The leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, Mr. Rutte, 56, is still in charge of the interim government.
“This is not without emotion,” he told reporters, according to radio station NOS. “But it feels good to pass the baton.”
Dutch politicians and leaders of other political parties said it was time for a new prime minister.
Caroline van der Plas, leader of the Farmer-Citizen Movement, a party in favor of farmers swept the local elections in the Netherlands this yearhe said he wanted a new leader and welcomed the opportunity for voters to go to the polls this fall.
Attje Kuiken, leader of the Labor Party, said on Twitter this week that “Mark Rutte is finished in power.”