Mark Rutte, the liberal head of government of the Netherlands, has resigned.

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ROBIN UTRECHT / ACTION PRES / SIPA

Dutch media reported on Friday the resignation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government amid a massive scandal in which thousands of families have been wrongly accused of fraud.

The liberal leader is due to announce the news at a press conference at 2:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m. GMT), which comes just two months before the legislative elections and in the midst of a health crisis.

Thousands of families have been wrongly accused of fraudulent family allowances, before being forced to reimburse them, which has plunged some of them into serious financial problems.

Many of them have also been subjected to ethnic profiling on the basis of their dual nationality.

The four ruling center and right-wing parties had met earlier to discuss a possible resignation, while Mark Rutte, prime minister since 2010 and one of the longest-serving EU leaders, had previously announced he would run for a fourth term.

A damning report

A parliamentary inquiry report published in December established that officials ended the allowances of thousands of families wrongly accused of fraud between 2013 and 2019, before forcing them to retroactively return those received over several years, either in some cases tens of thousands of euros.

Senior political leaders, including several ministers in office, are accused of having preferred to close their eyes to dysfunctions of which they were aware.

The case comes two months before the legislative elections, scheduled for March 17, and in the midst of a health crisis, the Netherlands experiencing the most severe restrictions imposed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Dutch political system allows for the existence of a "resigning government", which can deal with ongoing business pending the formation of a new government or the holding of elections. 

Labor opposition also affected

The pressure on the government intensified on Thursday with the resignation of the leader of the opposition Dutch Labor Party (PvdA), Lodewijk Asscher, Minister of Social Affairs from 2012 to 2017, under the previous government coalition of Mark Rutte.

Victims lawyer Vasco Groeneveld filed a complaint on Tuesday against three ministers in office and two former ministers, including Lodewijk Asscher.

Several concerned parents out of the 26,000 posted a video online Monday in which they called on the government to resign.

Mark Rutte has led three coalition governments since 2010. In 2017, his party came first ahead of far-right MP Geert Wilders.

According to recent polls, the liberal-conservative party (VVD) of Mark Rutte could be the first party again after the legislative elections, public opinion still largely supporting its management of the pandemic.

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