Dutch King accepts Rutte III Cabinet's resignation

King Willem-Alexander received the resignation of the Rutte III cabinet on Friday. The King requested that Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his cabinet continue to do all they deem necessary in in the interest of the Kingdom in this transition period, the Koninklijk Huis announced.

The entire cabinet, Ministers and State Secretaries, stepped down over the childcare allowance affair, in which thousands of parents were left in financially impossible situations when the Tax Authority wrongly labeled them as fraudsters and ordered them to repay their childcare allowance.

The Rutte III cabinet is now an "outgoing cabinet". This means the cabinet resigned, but remains in office until a new cabinet is chosen. The cabinet will still deal with current cases - which here means mainly the coronavirus pandemic - but controversial or sensitive subjects will be left to the next cabinet. What is controversial or sensitive will be determined by parliament and the Senate.

The King resigned Eric Wiebes from his position as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate, at Wiebes' request and Rutte's recommendation, "in the most honorable manner and with immediate effect". His duties in the outgoing cabinet will be observed by Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management.