The Dutch Labour Party leader, Wouter Bos, is resigning and is leaving the political scene entirely. Once tipped as a potential prime minister, the politician says he’s stepping down as he doesn’t want to miss his children growing up.

He says he will not be leading Labour into elections scheduled for 9 June and will no longer be available for any political posts, including being an MP. He has led Labour since 2002.

The Amsterdam Mayor, Job Cohen, a political heavyweight, is widely seen as the most likely candidate to replace Mr Bos as Labour leader.

Until three weeks ago Wouter Bos was deputy prime minister in the governing coalition but the cabinet fell in a dispute over extending the Dutch troop mission in Afghanistan.

A clash with Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, from the Christian Democrat CDA, over the issue led to Wouter Bos pulling his ministers out of the government, triggering its collapse.

Reactions 
Shocked. Amazed. Disappointed. These were some of the reactions to Wouter Bos' announcement. The Labour leader says he wants to spend more time with his wife and three children. 

"If I were to continue and become prime minister, I would completely miss seeing my own children grow up. That is not worth it." 

The coalition between his Labour Party and the Christian CDA was never easy for Wouter Bos. He had to compromise on a number of his party's fundamental standpoints, including giving up on an inquiry into Dutch support for the US invasion of Iraq.  

In the end, it proved one compromise too many and Mr Bos brought the cabinet down when he refused to talk about options of extending the Dutch troop mission in Afghanistan.

Dented reputation
The Labour Party benefited in public opinion polls from the fall of the cabinet, and went on to limit its losses in municipal elections ten days later. Nevertheless, after three years of governing, Mr Bos' image had suffered.  

The same can be said about Christian Democrat leader Jan Peter Balkenende. Except that, for Mr Balkenende, this was his fourth cabinet in eight years and his party very quickly re-elected him as their leader going into elections in June. But many say the country is tired of Mr Balkenende as prime minister, and question his ability to lead a strong cabinet.

Dutch politics is going through a particularly turbulent period. The rise of Geert Wilder's far-right Freedom Party, and the loss of support for the three dominant parties, Labour, the Christian Democrats and the Conservative VVD, has turned the political scene on its head.

Change of guard
Other Dutch politicians have also been falling on their swords in recent days too, Camiel Eurlings, widely regarded as the successor to Christian Democrat leader Jan Peter Balkenende, also withdrew from political life.

Mr Eurlings says would like to start a family. The 36-year-old does not want to be a new father when he is already in his fifties.

The resignations of the two leaders, along with last week's resignation of Socialist Party leader Agnes Kant, signal a changing of the guard in Dutch politics as parliamentary elections loom. 

The Christian Democrats have a well-known figure leading them into June's parliamentary elections in Jan Peter Balkenende. The Labour Party, like the Socialist Party, has to start from scratch. This is highly unusual so close to an election.

But unlike the Socialist Party, with almost unknown Emile Roemer taking over, the Labour Party will turn to Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen, already a national figure. He will see if he can lead the Labour Party to its first win in a parliamentary election since 1998.