Dutch Premier to offer resignation
The Dutch government at the head of Prime Minister Mark Rutte is expected to offer its resignation to Queen Beatrix in a crisis over budget cuts.
A coalition between Rutte's Freedom and Democracy party and far-right leader Geert Wilders fell apart on Saturday over austerity talks, with Wilders saying EU demands were too hard.
Rutte's resignation will force new elections.
Political turmoil in what is traditionally one of the euro zone's most stable and prosperous members jolted financial markets, already worried about the likelihood of a Socialist victory in French presidential elections.
The row erupted at the weekend when the anti-EU Freedom Party refused to agree with the centre-right coalition on how to cut 14 to 16 billion euros from the budget and get the Dutch deficit down to the EU target next year.
New elections could be announced as early as Monday, and would most likely be held in September or October, analysts said.
