Jan Peter Balkenende has returned to The Hague from last night’s summit in Brussels to pick up where he left off. He says he never wanted the job of first president of Europe – and he didn’t get it, losing out to his neighbour, Belgian Prime Minster Herman van Rompuy. But how damaged is he by the EU selection process?

Mr Balkenende returned from the summit with his head held high. Happy for Europe that a good team was chosen quickly, and happy for The Netherlands that he gets to finish his four-year term as prime minister. But insiders wonder if Mr Balkenende shouldn't be returning with his tail between his legs. It was no secret that he wanted to become Europe's first president, no matter how often he denied it, and his thwarted ambitions could damage his credibility.

Colourless mouse
Mr Balkenende won’t be received with open arms in The Hague – and certainly not by Geert Wilders, leader of the opposition Freedom Party. “They've found an even more colourless mouse than Balkenende  to fill the job,” sneered Mr Wilders, “It’s a shame. I’d have been very happy to see him leave for Brussels, because that would have meant early elections as far as I’m concerned.”

Mr Balkenende was having a tough time of it long before the Lisbon Treaty was ratified and the question arose of who would fill the new EU post. He leads an uneasy coalition government joining his own centre-right Christian Democrats with perennial rivals, the centre-left Labour Party. The financial crisis has only worsened a general feeling of disillusionment among the Dutch voting public.

Missteps
Mr Balkenende has not helped matters by making a number of political missteps. He long opposed an inquiry into Dutch support for the US war in Iraq, only to have that inquiry forced upon him. Add to that a decidedly lacklustre performance defending next year's budget in parliament, one of the most important days in the Dutch political calendar.

When it became clear the Lisbon Treaty would be ratified, and Europe would need to find a suitable president, the prime minister had little choice but to deny he was interested. Which he did, early and often. But no one doubts he was very keen on the job. Mr Balkenende has rarely been so animated as when discussing Europe in the past two months.

Never say never
He also never ruled out going to Brussels when politicians across the spectrum asked him to say no, even if he was offered the job. Edith Schippers from the opposition VVD is offended: “When you’re in the middle of such difficult economic times, with unemployment rising, then of course what you want are people who are totally committed to the Netherlands and not secretly eyeing up another job”.

Expiration date
In the end, his refusal to say no will cause Mr Balkenende the most trouble within his own government. It looks as if the prime minister was considering leaving his country during a time of need and not all of his colleagues will be ready to forget that any time soon.

Elections are not due until the spring of 2011, but some are already speculating that the prime minister will have passed his expiry date by then. Opinion polls have shown for months that the governing coalition has lost its majority support among the public.

There is no term limit on a prime minister in the Dutch parliamentary system. But Jan Peter Balkenende seems about to enter a period similar to the end of a US President's second term: he has become a lame duck.