King Willem-Alexander has returned to the Netherlands. He spoke to caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Saturday. The royal flag has been raised at Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, which means that the monarch is on Dutch soil.
In the palace, the king was briefed on the fall of the government on Friday evening.
Rutte had already submitted the government’s resignation to the king in writing on Friday. He described the situation as “unfortunate, but the political reality we cannot ignore.” The Council of Ministers was unable to agree on the family reunification of asylum seekers who obtained a residence permit.
The cabinet will continue on a caretaker basis, meaning that only current issues will be dealt with. Topics can also be declared controversial. This means that these matters will not be dealt with until after the formation of a new government.
The king had to come back from abroad to talk to Rutte. The Government Information Service does not want to say exactly where the king is, but only referred to the royal standard. The flag was not flying on Friday, which means Willem-Alexander was out at the time.
“Travel specialist. Typical social media scholar. Friend of animals everywhere. Freelance zombie ninja. Twitter buff.”