The Labour Party and the Christian Union are against Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende leaving for a job in Brussels. The Dutch prime minister 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.

Labour party chair Mariette Hamer says Mr Balkenende is the "face of the cabinet" and should stay in The Hague, particularly with the Netherlands in a period of economic crisis. Party chairman Arie Slob of the Christian Union told public broadcaster NOS that he agrees and points out that Mr Balkenende has previously dismissed talk of him changing jobs as "nonsense". The chairman of Mr Balkenende's own Christian Democrat party, Pieter van Geel said he was not prepared to speculate about the topic. The opposition parties are calling for new elections to be held if the prime minister leaves.
 

On Tuesday, Luxembourg's long-serving prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker threw his hat in the ring and told French newspaper La Monde "If I were called upon, I would have no reason to refuse." The other main candidate is former British prime minister Tony Blair. Despite the Netherlands' official stance that it is not putting forward a candidate, Mr Balkenende's name continues to be mentioned as the third contender.
 

In any case, there is now little chance that a choice will be made at the Brussels summit of 27 EU leaders at the end of this week either about the new EU president or the new European Commission. Nothing can be decided until the Czech Republic ratifies the Lisbon Treaty and the Czech Constitutional Court still has to respond 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 appointments.