Friday night there was a borrel in Frontpage in Arlington, and it was a fun evening. It was a prelude to tonight's Queen's Day celebration and a lot of the same people were there. It's a nice group and both evenings were a lot of fun.

The celebration at the Embassy tonight was very large with several hundred guests. It is a combination of a business event and a social party, with copious amounts of Dutch food including kaas soufflés, a personal favorite.

Prime Minister Rutte has offered the resignation of his cabinet to the Queen, preparing the country for new elections in September. The proposed restrictions on dual citizenship for Dutch citizens are now on hold. This is great news for Dutch citizens abroad who were at risk of being unable to keep their Dutch citizenship when applying for that of their new home countries.

Dual citizenship law considered "controversial issue"

The 18-month old coalition between the conservative-liberal VVD and the Christian democratic CDA was supported by the far-right PVV. The Netherlands is in danger of breaking the 3% rule imposed by the European Union and the three parties were negotiating new budget cuts. Those talks broke down unexpectedly on Saturday and the PVV revoked its support for the coalition.

New elections will most likely be held on September 12. Until that time, the VVD and CDA will formally remain in power but will no longer take on "controversial issues". It is now clear that both VVD and CDA, as well as most opposition parties, consider the proposed law "controversial" which means it will no longer progress. A May 15 meeting to discuss the proposal has been canceled.

CDA: "A PVV thing"

The main opposition parties have always opposed the restrictive law and in recent days the governing parties seem to have come around as well. CDA spokesperson Mirjam Sterk said in an interview with Dutch newspaperDe Telegraaf about the proposal: "That is a kind of PVV-thing that we've always found difficult".

Eelco Keij, the main organizer of the protests against the law: "Recently, the VVD made clear they were struggling with the proposal, and it was a courageous thing to air those disagreements."

New elections

The elections in September will determine the shape of the new coalition. It seems unlikely that the PVV will be part of a coalition again, which bodes well for those who are in favor of dual citizenship. For more information on how to cast your vote while abroad, contact your local Consulate or Embassy or read more information in Dutch at Kiesraad.nl.