Dutch Prime Minister Balkenende and Finance Minister Wouter Bos are in the Lower House for an emergency debate on the political situation that has arisen after an ultimatum by Mr Bos. The debate was called by the opposition.

Wouter Bos said on Wednesday that both he and his party reject once and for all any extension of the Dutch military mission in Afghanistan. Minister Bos wants the cabinet to take a final decision on Friday regarding a NATO request to extend the mission beyond its agreed 2010 end date. Unlike Mr Bos' Labour Party, the other coalition partners do not want to reject the NATO request outright.

Motion
Speaking for the largest opposition party, Socialist Party leader Agnes Kant suggested she could put forward a motion asking the cabinet to take a final decision on Friday. That is exactly Mr Bos' demand, and Ms Kant therefore expects the Labour Party to support her motion.

In Afghanistan
Other opposition parties, including Geert Wilders' Freedom Party, say the question is not if the cabinet will fall, but when. Conservative VVD leader Mark Rutte reminded the cabinet of its responsibilities towards Dutch forces in Afghanistan, saying "we have 2000 men and women in Uruzgan who are witnessing this clumsy behaviour".
 

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