LONDON (AFX) - Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm announced he was leaving politics, but denied the move was linked to losses by his rightwing liberal VVD party in general elections.
In remarks on Dutch public radio Zalm, 54, instead described his resignation as a 'personal decision' made before the Nov 22 vote.
The VVD lost 22 out of its 150 parliamentary seats in the elections that resulted in a fractured parliament. Centrist parties like the Christian Democrats, Labour and the VVD party lost support to their more extreme counterparts.
Zalm is the country's longest-serving minister, having first been tapped for a cabinet seat by former prime minister Wim Kok in 1994.
His marathon tenure as finance chief has been marked by the euro's replacement of the Dutch guilder and more recently by a strict fiscal austerity policy.
In several occasions he reprimanded euro-zone members who violated rules capping national budget deficits at three percent. Zalm also managed to lower the Netherlands' net contribution to the European budget. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/rw COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
In remarks on Dutch public radio Zalm, 54, instead described his resignation as a 'personal decision' made before the Nov 22 vote.
The VVD lost 22 out of its 150 parliamentary seats in the elections that resulted in a fractured parliament. Centrist parties like the Christian Democrats, Labour and the VVD party lost support to their more extreme counterparts.
Zalm is the country's longest-serving minister, having first been tapped for a cabinet seat by former prime minister Wim Kok in 1994.
His marathon tenure as finance chief has been marked by the euro's replacement of the Dutch guilder and more recently by a strict fiscal austerity policy.
In several occasions he reprimanded euro-zone members who violated rules capping national budget deficits at three percent. Zalm also managed to lower the Netherlands' net contribution to the European budget. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/rw COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited