VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The fourth cabinet of the Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte fell on Friday (7/7). Until the new government is formed, the demissionner cabinet will only guarantee that the daily governance will run smoothly yet cannot make strategic decisions.

The fall of Mark Rutte's fourth demissionner cabinet resulted from party coalition's block in achieving agreement on immigration policy.

 
Recently, the Netherlands has been flooded by Middle Eastern refugees, most of which were from Syria. The Dutch cabinet coalition parties failed to reach an agreement on refugee families reunion. Some wanted to limit the refugee, including for their family staying outside the Netherlands. The other wanted the reunion at all costs. The situation before the Dutch government's fall suddenly worsened last week, after Mark Rutte - without any fundamental reason - suddenly threatened to disband the cabinet if his party's intention to limit the flow of refugees was not granted.

For Indonesia, Mark Rutte has a special relation. He spent parts of his childhood in Indonesia, when it was still called the Dutch Indies.

The fall of the former PM's government will not have any significant impact on its bilateral relations with Indonesia. Besides history, Indonesia and the Netherlands are sharing a tight relationship.

The Netherlands has the most Indonesian diaspora in Europe. The number of Indonesian diaspora in the Netherlands, both still Indonesian citizens and those who changed passports was predictably around 1.7 million people. Currently, more than 1,500 Indonesian students are studying in various higher education in the Netherlands.

Despite declining compared to 2021, the investment value of the Netherlands in Indonesia in 2022 was $1,22 billion. The Netherlands stays as the top investors from Europe in Indonesia.

The future of Dutch politics is still uncertain. Although the opposition is sensing an opportunity to hold the government, it is not easy to make a coalition. Moreover, there is yet any strong candidate to replace Mark Rutte. Besides, the centrist parties are still trying to make a strategy after the failure of preserving Mark Rutte's fourth demissionner cabinet.