Can a Prime Minister simply leave when there’s still a caretaker government?
Chances that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will become Secretary General of NATO are becoming increasingly likely now that the US and most western countries have expressed their support. The question now is how to appoint someone to the position of Prime Minister, who to appoint and when the situation will arise. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, discusses this on Dutch news talk show ‘WNL Op Zondag’.
A new situation
In the meantime, the caretaker cabinet has suffered many early dropouts, and those positions constantly have to be filled and refilled. The same may be said for Mark Rutte's role. In the broadcast, Professor Voermans says that reappointing the same person as Prime Minister is a situation that has never before occurred in Dutch politics – it's just not part of the script.
The VVD camp
It’s up to the cabinet to submit a nomination to the King. ‘It would be logical for someone from the VVD camp to fill the position – after all, the Prime Minister is the face of the cabinet. Considering the government policy statement at the time, any replacement would simply have to be an active VVD politician,’ says Professor Voermans. Meanwhile, in The Hague, everyone is looking to Dilan Yeşilgöz to take over as a potential successor.
More information
Listen to the WNL Op Zondag broadcast (in Dutch, from 3.44 min. onwards)
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