LONDON (MCT) — The Dutch government has become the latest to fall in Europe because of the continent’s stubborn debt crisis, which appears to be flaring up again after a temporary lull.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his Cabinet resigned en masse Monday after they failed to clinch a deal with other parties over austerity cuts to reduce the Netherlands’ budget deficit. It was an embarrassing development for the Dutch, who have repeatedly lectured Southern European nations on the need to rein in public spending but now can’t agree on such a plan themselves.
It also helped fuel a day of heavy losses in stock markets across Europe, with investors unsettled by weak manufacturing data in Germany, confirmation of a return to recession in Spain and an uncertain presidential election result in France.
