AMSTERDAM (dpa-AFX) - The Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced that he will resign as the leader of the ruling VVD party, and leave politics.
Rutte announced this decision at a parliamentary debate on a no-confidence motion brought by the opposition Monday.
The four-party coalition government headed by the conservative leader had collapsed last week in a row over asylum policies.
'I did well and I honestly think that it is the right time [to step down],' Rutte said Monday, adding that he was leaving 'with a lot of emotion and with a lot of mixed feelings.'
Rutte, who has been in power since 2010, was Prime Minister for four terms.
Europe's second-longest serving leader is now heading a caretaker government until next parliamentary elections.
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