The Dutch coalition government collapsed yesterday over whether to extend the country’s military mission in Afghanistan, leaving uncertain the future of its 1,600 soldiers fighting there.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced that the second-largest party in his three-party alliance was quitting, in a breakdown of trust in what had always been an uneasy partnership.
Balkenende made no mention of elections as he spoke to reporters after a 16-hour Cabinet meeting in The Hague that ended close to dawn. The resignation of the Labor Party — which has demanded the country stick to a scheduled withdrawal from Afghanistan — would leave his government with an unworkable majority, however, and political analysts said early elections appeared inevitable.
Balkenende said his center-right Christian Democratic Alliance would continue in office together with the small Christian Union and would “make available” Labor’s Cabinet seats, but he did not spell out his intentions.
The coalition, elected to a four-year term, marks its third year in office tomorrow.
“Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together. There is no road along which this Cabinet [can] go further,” Balkenende said.
The Dutch debate comes as opinion polls in many troop-providing European countries indicate growing public opposition to sending more soldiers to Afghanistan.
Dutch soldiers have been deployed since 2006 in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan on a two-year stint that was extended until August.
Labor demanded that Dutch troops leave Uruzgan as scheduled. Balkenende’s Christian Democratic Alliance wanted to keep a trimmed down military presence in the restive province.
“A plan was agreed to when our soldiers went to Afghanistan,” Labor Party leader Wouter Bos said. “Our partners in the government didn’t want to stick to that plan and on the basis of their refusal, we have decided to resign from this government.”
The split came after a buildup of tension over several weeks between Balkenende and Bos, the finance minister, mainly over Afghanistan and the government’s earlier political support for the war in Iraq.
“This is the end of this Cabinet,” said Andre Rouvoet, leader of the third coalition party.
He said Queen Beatrix was expected to formally accept the resignations of the Labor ministers yesterday.
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