The announcement on Friday by Dutch Labour Party leader Wouter Bos that he was resigning and leaving politics has drawn a variety of reactions, ranging from positive to dismissive.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende voiced respect for Mr Bos' decision and praised the former finance minister for what he said had been his important work in tackling the economic crisis. Mark Rutte, the leader of the conservative VVD, said he regretted he would no longer be able to debate with Mr Bos in the run-up to the elections due on 9 June. He said Mr Bos embodied the economic policies of the past years and stressed that he had fundamental disagreements with Mr Bos over his way of combatting the economic crisis.

The leader of the far-right Freedom Party (PVV), Geert Wilders, said Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen, widely expected to become Labour's new leader, was the last thing the country needed. He called him a "multi-culti hugger". Emile Roemer, the leader of the Socialist Party, welcomed Mr Cohen as a new opportunity for progressive collaboration.

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide