'The buck stops here': Dutch prime minister and his entire Cabinet quits over welfare scandal | Jan. 16, 2021 |

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his government have resigned over a harrowing scandal that saw thousands of parents wrongly accused of child benefit fraud.

Mr Rutte, one of Europe's longest serving leaders, said he would stay on in a caretaker capacity until elections in March to avoid disrupting the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The 53-year-old said the benefits system had gone "terribly wrong", with many innocent parents forced to pay back large amounts of money in child allowance and ending up financially ruined.

Some families were targeted for investigation by tax officials because they had dual nationality, underscoring longstanding criticisms of systemic racism in the Netherlands.

"The buck stops here," Mr Rutte, the leader of the liberal VVD party, told a news conference after a meeting during which his four-party coalition cabinet unanimously decided they had to quit.

"The rule of law must protect its citizens from an all-powerful government, and here that's gone terribly wrong. Mistakes have been made that have resulted in great injustice to thousands of parents."

Dutch government resigns over child benefits scandal | The Guardian |

The Dutch government has resigned amid an escalating scandal over child benefits in which more than 20,000 families were wrongly accused of fraud by the tax authority.

The move came less than a month before parliament was due to break up ahead of general elections scheduled for 17 March. Prime minister Mark Rutte's cabinet is to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new coalition is formed after that vote.

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