Departing Finance Minister leaving politics

Departing Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem is giving up his parliamentary seat and leaving politics, he announced in a letter to Tweede Kamer president Khadija Arib on Tuesday evening. According to Dijsselbloem, he lacks the "firepower" the PvdA needs to function well as opposition party with only 9 seats, NU.nl reports.

The PvdA's massive loss in the parliamentary elections - the party went rom 38 to 9 seats in the Tweede Kamer - played a decisive role in his decision. "My party needs to continue with nine canons. I have now come to the conclusion that in this role, at this stage, I do not have the firepower", Dijsselbloem said in the letter. He will step out of parliament on October 25th, the same week the new government is expected to take office. "I'm leaving Dutch politics and that strikes me hard."

Dijsselbloem will remain Eurogroup chairman until his term ends in January. Earlier this week the Finance Ministers of the EU countries unanimously agreed to extend his term till December.