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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has confirmed the resignation of his government over a scandal over child benefits.
"The rule of law must protect its citizens from an all-powerful government, and that went terribly wrong here," said Rutte at a press conference on Friday.
Around 20,000 parents had been falsely portrayed as fraudsters for years and plunged into great financial hardship.
The resignation is seen primarily as a symbolic step and is unlikely to have any impact on the outcome of the election on March 17th.
In the surveys, Rutte's VVD is well ahead.
Then he could also form a government again.
Rutte had previously assured that the government would remain fully capable of dealing with the Corona crisis.
In the fight against alleged fraud, the tax authorities reclaimed tens of thousands of euros in childcare subsidies from their parents between 2013 and 2019.
Thousands of families were in dire straits as a result.
The right-wing liberal Rutte was head of government in all years.
Most recently, his right-wing liberal VVD ruled together with two Christian parties and the left-liberal D66.
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The affair had become acute after a parliamentary commission of inquiry had sharply condemned the actions of politicians, authorities and the judiciary in December.
“The basic principles of the rule of law have been violated.” The government has already promised compensation of 30,000 euros per family.
The pressure on the government had increased after the leader of the social democratic opposition party, Lodewijk Asscher, surprisingly announced his withdrawal from politics on Thursday because of the same affair.
Asscher was Minister of Social Affairs until 2017.