Dutch Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag has said she is leaving politics because of intimidation and threats.
Following the break-up of former prime minister Mark Rutte's government, she is no longer available as a top candidate for the left-liberal party D66, Kaag announced in The Hague on Thursday.
"For me, the past period was accompanied by hate, intimidation and threats, as well as love and appreciation," the 61-year-old said. However, she will remain in office until the election and the arrival of a new government.
In an interview with the Trouw newspaper on Thursday, Kaag complained of misogyny, among other things.
"The opposition, I'm afraid, says something about the social climate in the Netherlands. Misogyny exists, unfortunately. Especially when women dare to stick their necks out."
The newspaper wrote that other Dutch politicians had also been threatened in their private lives. Kaag had received the most hate messages, however. In a television programme, her two daughters recently called on her to give up politics. They feared for their mother's life.
The Dutch four-party coalition broke up last Friday in a dispute over migration policy. On Monday, Rutte unexpectedly announced his retirement from politics. He will not run again, but will also remain in office until a new government is formed.
A date for the new election has not yet been officially set, though the newspaper De Telegraaf, citing government circles, reported on Thursday that November 22 was a likely date.
