Dutch ministers resign over misleading parliament
The Dutch justice minister and his state secretary resigned on Monday after acknowledging they misled parliament about the facts surrounding a settlement with a drug kingpin in 2001.
The resignations of the men, both members of Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Liberal party, weakens the Cabinet shortly before provincial elections on March 18 that have the potential to destabilize the ruling coalition. "I have no choice but to respect their decision," Rutte said. "The cabinet has lost two driven experts." The two politicians had told parliament that Cees Helman, a convicted drug lord, had been paid far less than the 4.7 million Dutch guilders he received, and that all records of the transaction had been lost. Both assertions were later found to be inaccurate.
