AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch junior Finance Minister Folkert Idsinga, who had been responsible for tax policies, resigned on Friday amid growing pressure to disclose details about his personal investments.
“If the largest government party puts a knife on my throat and forces me to publish all my interests without any necessity, that’s where I draw the line,” Idsinga told reporters after his resignation.
Far-right leader Geert Wilders, who heads the largest party in the governing coalition, had sided on Tuesday with opposition parties urging Idsinga to disclose all his investments following a report by Dutch broadcaster RTL.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof said in a statement on Friday Idsinga had followed all the right procedures and had done all that could “reasonably be asked” of a cabinet member.
RTL had reported on Tuesday based on public documents that Idsinga had assets worth a total of around 6 million euros ($6.5 million). He disclosed his wealth before he joined Schoof’s cabinet, but had not given specifics about the companies he had invested in, as this is not part of the standard procedure.
Idsinga, 52, is the first member of the right-wing government to lose his job since the four-party coalition led by Wilders’ nationalist PVV party came to power in July.
The coalition has proven to be very fragile, as Wilders has repeatedly threatened to walk away if his partners do not agree on stronger rules to curb immigration.
The coalition managed to strike a deal last week on immigration, but only after Idsinga’s NSC party forced Wilders to drop his insistence on declaring a national asylum crisis that would enable the government to bypass parliament.
Idsinga said on Friday he would give more details about his investments at a later stage, adding that most of his money was on a savings account. He said an independent asset manager was in charge of his stock market portfolio, which consisted mainly of shares in companies outside the Netherlands.
($1 = 0.9217 euros)
(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Frances Kerry)
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