Dutch FM resigns triggering vote of no-confidence

World
Europe

Dutch Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra resigned Tuesday after admitting lying, triggering a political bombshell and a vote of no-confidence in the country's prime minister.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte overwhelmingly survived the vote brought by his arch-foe far-right politician Geert Wilders, with 101 MPs against and only 43 in favor.

But the scandal has erupted in just a few days in the Netherlands, and threatens to undermine Rutte's fledgling and fragile four-party coalition.

The drama came after Zijlstra admitted he had falsely claimed to have attended a 2006 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Halbe Zijlstra arrives for an EU Eastern Partnership summit with six eastern partner countries at the European Council in Brussels on November 24, 2017. /VCG Photo

"This is by far the biggest mistake I have made in my career," he told the lower house of parliament, adding tearfully that he had no option but to resign.

Rutte then found himself in the firing line, when MPs grilled him about why he had not informed parliament sooner after being told about Zijlstra's deception on January 29.

"It was an error of judgment on my part," Rutte said.

"I didn't think this affair would have such a political fallout. I underestimated the impact of this lie."

Zijlstra, a member of Rutte's Liberal VVD party, had only been in the post for four months, and his appointment in October had already raised eyebrows due to his lack of experience.

The Netherlands's Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives to attend the first day of a European Council meeting in Brussels on December 14, 2017. /VCG Photo

His resignation came just hours before he was set to leave for Moscow to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

A Dutch foreign ministry official told AFP that the Moscow "meeting will not go ahead, for obvious reasons" and they would try to look "at a later date."

Zijlstra resigned after finally admitting that his long-held claim to have attended a 2006 meeting in Putin's dacha, which included Jeroen van der Veer, Shell's former chief executive, was false.

"I have spoken about an incident of great importance, saying I was there in person, while that was not the case," Zijlstra told MPs on Tuesday.

"I wanted to tell this story convincingly without revealing my source; it was obviously the wrong choice. I should not have done it. I am sorry."

Source(s): AFP