Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has visited the king to hand in the resignation of his four-party coalition, setting the deeply divided Netherlands on track for a general election later this year.
    • @MicroWaveOP
      9•1 year ago

      Wow. Thanks for the context.

    • Kelho
      4•1 year ago

      Thanks for the context! Im a bit out of the loop, what is this nitrogen crisis you mentioned?

          • UnanimousStargazer
            1•1 year ago

            You’re welcome.

            Dutch parliament planned to go on leave the coming weeks as off today, but they returned to debate today about the collapse of the government.

            The opposition has asked for Rutte to resign immediately considering his role in the collapse of the government, which was the direct result of Rutte asking a christian coalition party to refuse children of asylum seekers to be joined with their parent. It was clear upfront the christian coalition party would never accept that, after which the government collapsed.

            If Rutte doesn’t resign, a motion of distrust will probably be filed during the debate. If it’s backed by a majority, it’s exit Rutte. The question thus becomes if the christian coalition party that was confronted by Rutte will support the motion of distrust.

      • @Hairypooper
        4•1 year ago

        For the past decades, farmers have been pushed by the agrarian industry to keep more and more cows for beef and dairy. This has caused huge nitrogen emissions that now are wreaking havoc on our nature. Politicians have been too gummy with the industry, and too scared of their electorate, to do anything about it.

        So now they have been forced by the supreme court to drastically cut emissions before 2035. This has caused massive protests from the farmers, who have resorted to violent attacks on the government, and physically threatening politicians and their families.

        Tldr; it’s a shitshow caused by political nearsightedness and lack of leadership.

      • @Odo
        3•1 year ago

        I had the same question, and it led to an interesting Google search. Turns out it’s been going on a few years now, and even has a wiki entry. A combination of farm runoff and vehicle pollution is screwing up the soil, water, and air. Feels so weird I hadn’t even heard of this.