Watch Dutch PM Mark Rutt leaves PMO on bicycle after serving for 14 years, handing over power to his successor Dick Schoff

In an sudden flip of occasions within the Netherlands, outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte bid farewell from his workplace in The Hague in a uniquely Dutch style—by bicycle. After a tenure spanning 14 years, Rutte has handed the baton to Dick Schoof, former intelligence chief, who took the oath of workplace in a ceremony presided over by King Willem-Alexander.

Schoof’s appointment marks a notable departure from the standard political panorama, as he assumes management with out affiliation to any social gathering and absent from the latest electoral fray. Rutte, in the meantime, is poised to imagine the function of secretary-general of NATO, a strategic alliance safeguarding member nations throughout Europe and North America.

The transition comes amidst the inauguration of the Netherlands’ first far-right authorities, following a landmark election that reshaped the nation’s political trajectory. Led by Geert Wilders’ social gathering, the coalition guarantees a shift in governance after Rutte’s longstanding premiership.

This growth underscores a pivotal second in Dutch politics, reflecting each continuity and alter within the nation’s management and coverage path.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof delivered his inaugural deal with to parliament on Wednesday, vowing to prioritize one in every of his new authorities’s key targets: the discount of immigration.

“The first concern amongst these is asylum and migration. That is the crux of the matter, no matter one’s perspective,” Schoof acknowledged. Not affiliated with any of the 4 events comprising the coalition authorities, Schoof formally assumed management from long-serving Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday. The 67-year-old former head of the Dutch intelligence company and counterterrorism workplace emerged as a stunning selection for the highest place.Final yr’s elections noticed the anti-immigration social gathering led by Geert Wilders safe the biggest share of seats, prompting a 223-day effort to type a coalition authorities involving 4 events. Resistance from different coalition companions prevented the controversial Wilders from assuming the prime minister’s function.