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Dutch Government Collapses Amid Disagreement on Afghan Troop Withdrawal

   VOA News 20 February 2010

   The  prime  minister  of  the  Netherlands  says  the  Dutch coalition
   government  collapsed Saturday, when the two largest parties failed to
   agree on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan this year.
   Prime  Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told reporters in the early hours
   of Saturday that the second-largest party in his coalition is quitting
   the  government  over  irreconcilable differences on whether to extend
   the Netherlands' military mission in Afghanistan.
   Mr.  Balkenende's center-right Christian Democrats, the bigger partner
   in  the  coalition,  proposed  the  idea of keeping a reduced force in
   place for a year past the August 2010 deadline.
   But,  Deputy  Prime  Minister  Wouter Bos, whose Labor Party wants the
   Afghan  mission  to  end on deadline, opposed the idea during hours of
   talks in The Hague.
   The Balkenende government took office three years ago.
   The  prime  minister  made  no  mention  of  elections.   However, the
   resignation  of  the  Labor  Party  would leave his government with an
   unworkable majority.
   Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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