Dutch coalition parties urge prime minister to stay

Labour party and ChristenUnie are against Balkenende leaving for a job in Brussels.

The Dutch prime minister, a Christian Democrat, has been named as one of the front runners for the new post of EU president, which will replace the current rotating presidency once the Lisbon Treaty has been adopted.

Mariette Hamer, Labour's leader in parliament, said Balkenende is the "face of the cabinet" and should stay in The Hague, particularly with the Netherlands in a period of economic crisis. Arie Slob of the ChristienUnie told public broadcaster NOS he agrees and pointed out Balkenende has previously dismissed talk of him changing jobs as "nonsense". The parliament leader of Balkenende's own party, Pieter van Geel, refused to speculate on the topic.

The pposition parties, meanwhile, are calling for new elections to be held if the prime minister does leave. General elections are not mandatory if the prime minister moves to Brussels and the his party could replace him with foreign minister Maxime Verhagen. But opposition members of parliament say a new reality needs a new mandate.

An opinion poll by TNS NIPO earlier this month showed two thirds of Dutch people agree elections should be held, while only a slight majority supports Balkenende for a top job in Brussels. The prime minister has led four cabinets in seven years.

On Tuesday, Luxembourg's prime minister fired the starting gun in the race for the job by publicly stating his availability for the post. "If I was called to do it, I would have no reason to turn it down," Jean-Claude Juncker, a veteran statesman, told the French newspaper, Le Monde. He is only the second official candidate, after former British prime minister Tony Blair. But despite the Netherlands' official stance of not putting forward a candidate, Balkenende's name continues to be mentioned as the third contender.

In any case, there is now little chance a choice will be made at the Brussels summit of 27 EU leaders at the end of this week about the new EU president. Nothing can be decided until the Czech Republic ratifies the Lisbon Treaty and the Czech constitutional court has postponed its responce to a complaint lodged by senators that the treaty contravenes the Czech constitution.

It now seems likely that the EU summit will concentrate on making preparations for the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen and an extra EU meeting will be scheduled in November to make the new appointment.