The Dutch cabinet was thrown into crisis on Friday afternoon after a junior minister  resigned, apparently because of discriminatory comments made by other ministers at Monday’s cabinet meeting.

Nora Achahbar, an NSC minister who had been charged with sorting out the child benefit scandal compensation scheme, was reportedly shocked by the “extremely racist language” used by the other three parties in the right-wing coalition while discussing the violence in Amsterdam last week.

According to the AD, other NSC ministers are also considering standing down, including Judith Uitermark, the current home affairs minister. The four coalition party leaders have been summed to join crisis talks at the prime minister’s official residence, the Catshuis on Friday evening.

“Insiders consider the end of the cabinet could be on the cards,” RTL correspondent Fons Lambie said. “The cabinet meeting has been halted and ministers sat together with their own party members to wait and see what would happen. It all depends on whether the NSC continues to support the cabinet or not.”

Ministers and the leaders of the three other coalition parties – the far right PVV, pro-countryside BBB and the VVD – have been quick to blame youngsters with Moroccan roots for the attacks on Israeli football fans and others in Amsterdam after the Ajax Maccabi Tel Aviv game last week.

They, and prime minister Dick Schoof, spoke of an “integration problem” and said some youngsters with Moroccan roots have “turned their backs” on Dutch values. They also called for dual nationals convicted of anti-Semitism to lose their Dutch passports.

The talks are expected to continue into the night.

Meanwhile, opposition party leaders have said they want the cabinet to publish the minutes of Monday’s meeting to find out exactly what was said. Cabinet meeting minutes are only made public after 20 years.

They have also called on prime minister Dick Schoof, who is not a member of a party, to make a statement.

“This cabinet is not for all the Dutch,” said GroenLinks-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans. “Achahbar is completely right to say enough is enough. Racist statements are the order of the day for this cabinet.”

Moroccan roots

Achahbar, 42, was born in Morocco, has a law degree, and is the second NSC minister to quit. Earlier this month, tax minister Folkert Idsinga resigned after coalition partner PVV joined calls for him to reveal more about his investments. ­­­­­­

A coalition collapse does not necessarily mean that the Netherlands will have new elections. There could be an effort to repair the current coalition which has been successful when previous alliances have collapsed, or ministers could carry one as a minority cabinet.

The GroenLinks-PvdA alliance, which was second in the November 22 vote last year, could also be given an opportunity to put together a coalition of its own.