• Print
• E-Mail
• Feedback

02/22/2010

"Working together, living together." That was the motto of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's cabinet when it began its term on Feb. 22, 2007. It was his fourth -- and it could be his last.

On Saturday morning, the seemingly inevitable happened. After "working together" for 16 straight hours overnight, the cabinet, made up of Christian Democrats, Labour and the orthodox Christian party ChristenUnie fell. And even that didn't go smoothly.

The Dutch military mission to the Afghan province of Uruzgan was this cabinet's final undoing, but it could have tripped up over any number of other issues. The Davids Committee report, which accused Balkenende of having been disingenuous in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, is one example. A disagreement regarding the purchase of JSF fighter jets is another. Budget cuts currently under consideration likewise may have been enough to tip the scales toward failure.

The enmity between Balkenende and Labour Party leader Wouter Bos were on full display in the run up to Saturday morning's disintegration. The prime minister had seemed intent on finding a balance between promises to withdraw Dutch troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2010 and US requests that the 1,600 troop contingent remain. Bos, however, had delivered an ultimatum -- by Friday evening, Labour wanted confirmation that Holland was turning its back on the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

Accomplished Very Little

It was a typical example of this cabinet's modus operandi. A cabinet, Holland has now found out, doesn't stand a chance when there is no will to continue, when unity is nowhere to be found and when the two most important leaders -- Balkenende and Bos -- are unable to put their egos aside. It is embarrassing for the prime minister that he has now led four cabinets, involving six parties other than his own, to their downfall. There is good reason to doubt his qualities as a leader.

Balkenende and Bos were bitter rivals in the 2006 elections, and they never really ceased to be. The snap elections, which will come about as a result of this latest crisis, will most likely see both men replaced as leaders of their parties, Holland's two largest. That is an accomplishment if there ever was one.

The cabinet had a difficult start. Both its coalition agreement from Feb. 2007 and the policy program that followed in June made it clear that the government preferred to postpone making major decisions. It was an impression that the government has been unable to shake in the ensuing years.

Indeed, this government has accomplished very little. Certainly its response to the global financial crisis -- for which it cannot be blamed -- was commendable. But numerous other reforms were only partially completed, with many cabinet decisions still pending -- decisions which are now in limbo.

Necessary measures will now be postponed, even though the economy is pining for policy that will aid recovery. That is the high price of this political crisis.