On Friday, the Dutch government collapsed after it failed to reach a decision how to limit the flow of asylum-seekers into the country. The crisis boiled over after Rutte's government realized it couldn't progress beyond a stalemate over a plan proposed by the prime minister's conservative VVD party to separate refugee families and limit the number of migrants entering the Netherlands, which two of his four-party government coalition refused to support.

"It's no secret that the coalition partners have differing opinions about immigration policy. Today we unfortunately have to conclude that those differences have become insurmountable. Therefore I will tender the resignation of the entire cabinet to the king," Rutte said in a televised news conference.

Rutte, the longest-service premier of the nation, resigned in the wake of the collapse, but will remain in office until a new prime minister is chosen.  News agency ANP, citing the national elections committee, said elections would not be held before mid-November. A caretaker government cannot decide on new policies, but Rutte said it would not affect the country's support for Ukraine.

Friday's collapse followed two days of late-night meetings between the coalition over the issue of immigration, which - like at all other Western nations - has put a strain on the already densely populated country's housing infrastructure.

The Netherlands already has a one of Europe's toughest immigration policies but under the pressure of right-wing parties, Rutte had for months been trying to seek ways to further reduce the inflow of asylum seekers.

The four-party coalition had been trying to hash out a deal for months on how to handle the dramatic influx of thousands of migrants seeking refuge, including from African nations and Ukraine.

As the Post reports, among the various proposals considered by the coalition was the creation of two classes of asylum, a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution, and capping the number of family members allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands.