Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has accused Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders of damaging the Dutch economy by his view on Europe.

In a newspaper interview Mr Balkenende said on Thursday, "How can you hide behind the dikes like that when your economy is as dependent on the outside world as ours is. You simply cannot do that. If you turn inward, you're following a direction that is harmful to our economy."

Asked whether he would ever govern in a coalition with the anti-Islam Freedom Party, the prime minister said that it would be "very difficult", given the economic views of Mr Wilders. Yet Mr Balkenende maintained he will never exclude any party. "You don't blackball each other when you're in a democracy," he said, directing veiled criticisism at Labour leader and Finance Minister Wouter Bos whose party is adamantly against ever accepting the Freedom Party in a government.

Jan Peter Balkenende (left) and Geert Wilders (right) (ANP Photo)