Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his resignation and that of his Cabinet on Friday after his four-party coalition failed to agree on measures to curb migration.
The decision by the Netherlands’ longest-serving premier means the country will face a general election later this year for the 150-seat lower house of Parliament.
“It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy,” Mr Rutte told reporters in The Hague.
“And today, unfortunately, we have to draw the conclusion that those differences are irreconcilable. That is why I will immediately — offer the resignation of the entire Cabinet to the king in writing.”
The coalition tried for months to hash out a deal to reduce the flow of new migrants arriving in the country of nearly 18 million people.
Proposals reportedly included creating two classes of asylum — a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution — and reducing the number of family members who are allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands.
Last year, hundreds of asylum-seekers were forced to sleep outdoors near an overcrowded reception centre as the number of people arriving in the Netherlands outweighed available beds. Dutch aid agencies provided assistance.
Opposition lawmakers wasted no time in calling for fresh elections.
Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Party for Freedom, tweeted: “Quick elections now.”
Jesse Klaver, leader of the Green Left party also called for elections and told Dutch broadcaster NOS: “This country needs a change of direction.”
The Netherlands’ four-party government coalition is understood to have been split by a push from Mr Rutte’s conservative VVD party to limit the flow of asylum seekers to the country - as two junior parties refused to support his proposals.
Tensions came to a head this week, when Mr Rutte demanded support for a proposal to limit entrance for children of war refugees who are already in the Netherlands and to make families wait at least two years before they can be united.
This last proposal made the small Christian Union decide to leave the government coalition, triggering a crisis.
A spokesman for the Christian Union could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Netherlands already has a one of Europe’s toughest immigration policies but under the pressure of right-wing parties, Mr Rutte had for months been trying to seek ways to further reduce the inflow of asylum seekers.
Asylum applications in the Netherlands jumped by a third last year to over 46,000, and the government has projected they could increase to more than 70,000 this year - topping the previous high of 2015.
This will again put a strain on the country’s asylum facilities, where for months last year hundreds of refugees at a time were forced to sleep in the rough with little or no access to drinking water, sanitary facilities or health care.
Mr Rutte last year said he felt “ashamed” of the problems, after humanitarian group Medecins sans Frontieres sent in a team to the Netherlands for the first time ever, to assist with migrants’ medical needs at the centre for processing asylum requests.
He promised to improve conditions at the facilities, mainly by reducing the number of refugees that reach the Netherlands. But he failed to win the backing of coalition partners who felt his policies went too far.
