Dutch Labour party leader Wouter Bos has said in his blog that he regrets taking part in an interview with national newspaper de Volkskrant about the European Parliament elections.

In the interview, Mr Bos made it known that Thijs Berman, who headed the list of European Parliament candidates for Labour, was actually the party's sixth choice. Five other - more prominent - politicians had been approached to run for election, but had declined.

Mr Bos concludes in his blog that the revelation is largely interpreted as somehow casting dispersions on Mr Berman, whilst the Labour leader actually meant to compliment him for his courage. His position, says Mr Bos, was difficult from the outset, as his name was little known amongst the Dutch electorate.

In the same article, Mr Bos also revealed that he himself had not voted for Mr Berman in the European elections, but has gone for Eurosceptic René Cuperus. He did not explain the reasons behind his personal choice.

Photo by roel1943 (Flickr)