The Dutch Prime Minister has resigned amid controversy around bringing the Dutch economy under control.  His cabinet “was plunged into crisis” when the Freedom Party “refused to accept austerity demands to bring the budget deficit in line with EU rules.”  The crisis occurred as the two coalition parties and the Freedom Party were trying to reach agreement on budget cuts before the deadline to submit the Dutch budget measures to the European Commissions.  Freedom Party member Geert Wilders said the “coalition’s proposals would harm economic growth and affect many people’s spending power.”  While the Netherlands has fared fairly well in the midst of the eurozone crisis, there is a fear that “failure of the budget talks could harm the Netherlands’ prized AAA credit rating and the low yield on government bonds.”  Will the Netherlands be another country that faces a financial crisis in the near future?

See Dutch government falls in budget crisis, BBC News: Europe, (April 23, 2012), http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17811509.