THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch centre-right leader Pieter Omtzigt announced Friday evening he is quitting both the fragile four-party ruling coalition and national politics.
Citing his mental health, the 51-year-old said in a social media video that he is unable to recover from burnout in the current political climate.
“It was a huge honor and privilege to be a member of parliament for more than 21 years," Omtzigt said in the surprise move. “But the toll has been quite high. That is why I am choosing to put my family first for the first time and to choose my own health.”
His New Social Contract party, founded just two years ago, is the fourth largest in the Dutch parliament and formed part of the ruling coalition after months of negotiations last year.
The government seemed on the brink of collapse over spring budget talks this week. In the previous nine months, it has nearly toppled after the resignation of the finance state secretary over what she saw as denigrating comments on immigrants and the refusal of the immigration minister to sign off on honors for volunteers who worked with refugees.
Known for his sharp tongue and fiery anti-Islam rhetoric, the hard-right leader Geert Wilders, who helms the largest party in parliament, was considered too controversial to lead the country but often dominates political negotiations.
Omtzigt leaves the party in the hands of his deputy Nicolien van Vroonhoven, who took over in September when he was on medical leave. His fall departure was the second time he had stepped back from his duties for his mental health.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof wished Omtzigt well. “The Hague is losing a passionate and dedicated MP, a true representative of the people. I thank him for his efforts and our collaboration in recent times,” Schoof said on social media.
A former member of the center-right Christian Democrats, Omtzigt’s new New Social Contract party immediately rocketed up opinion polls thanks to his reputation as a tireless crusader for whistleblowers and victims of government scandals.
His key policy platform was reforming the Dutch political system that has been tarnished in recent years by scandals including the country’s tax office wrongly labelling thousands of child welfare recipients as fraudsters.
He became a sensation during drawn-out talks to form the last Dutch coalition government when one of the negotiators was photographed carrying papers that included the text: “job elsewhere” next to his name.
It was widely seen as a sign that the established political order wanted to be rid of a man who had long been a thorn in their side. It only served to bolster Omtzigt’s popularity.
FILE - Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the recently formed Dutch political party New Social Contract prepares to cast his ballot at the Museumfabriek, or Museum Factory, in Enschede, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
FILE - Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the recently formed Dutch political party New Social Contract, speaks to the media at a meeting in Amersfoort, Netherlands on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The party of Kosovo 's Prime Minister Albin Kurti won an early parliamentary election Sunday in the Balkan country by a clear margin, near-complete preliminary results showed.
The Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party won nearly 50% of the ballots, far ahead of the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21%, and the Democratic League of Kosovo with nearly 14%, the state election, authorities said after some 96% of the ballots were counted.
The snap ballot on Sunday was scheduled after the Self-Determination party failed to form a government despite also winning the most votes in a Feb. 9 election (is this correct?).
It was not immediately clear whether the Self-Determination party has won 61 seats in the 120-member parliament to be able to rule alone.
The previous postelection stalemate marked the first time Kosovo could not form a government since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO intervention.
Kosovo has not approved a budget for next year, sparking concern over the already poor economy in the country of 2 million people.
Lawmakers also are set to elect a new president in March as current President Vjosa Osmani’s mandate expires in early April. If this fails too, another snap election must be held.
After voting Sunday, Kurti urged Kosovo’s 1.9 million voters to turn out in large numbers to grant “more legitimacy for our institutions.”
“Once the election result is known, we will do our best to constitute a new parliament as soon as possible and to proceed with the election of the new government,” he said.
Turnout was at around 44%, according to the state election authorities.
According to Kosovo’s election laws, 20 parliamentary seats are automatically assigned to ethnic Serb representatives and other minority parties.
Opposition parties have accused Kurti of authoritarianism and of alienating Kosovo’s U.S. and European Union allies since he came to power in 2021.
Lumir Abdixhiku from the Democratic League of Kosovo urged voters to “move away from the gloom, the deadlock and the division that has accompanied us for these years.”
A former political prisoner during Serbia’s rule in Kosovo, the 50-year-old Kurti has taken a tough stand in talks mediated by the European Union on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the EU and the United States imposed punitive measures.
Kurti has promised to buy military equipment to boost security.
Ilmi Deliu, a 71-year-old pensioner from the capital, Pristina, said he hoped the election will bring a change or “we will end up in an abyss.”
“Young people no longer want to live here,” he said.
Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north exploded in clashes in 2023 when scores of NATO-led peacekeepers were injured. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors this month took power peacefully there after a municipal vote.
Kurti has also agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the United States as part of tough anti-immigration measures by the administration of President Donald Trump. One migrant has arrived so far, authorities have told The Associated Press.
Kosovo has one of the poorest economies in Europe. It is one of the six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but both Kosovo and Serbia have been told they must first normalize relations.
A man folds his ballot prior to voting in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
A couple cast their votes in early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Voters fill their ballots behind voting booths for early parliamentary election in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Kosovo's acting prime minister and leader of VeteVendosje political party Albin Kurti casts his ballot in Kosovo's capital Pristina, Sunday Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Supporters of Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista prepare to go at a polling station and cast their ballots in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)
A voter arrives at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)
A voter prepares her ballot at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)
People walk past a giant banner of the leader of VV (Selfdetermination) political party Albin Kurti, in the capital Pristina on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
People waiting in the iluminated bus station with banners of LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) leader Lumir Abdixhiku in capital Pristina on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
