NETHERLANDS: Socialist party could tip the balance in close run Dutch election with many voters undecided

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's Christian Democrats had a narrow lead in the opinion polls as voting stations opened in national elections on Wednesday (November 22), but with many voters undecided their Labour rivals could still cause an upset. Opinion polls show neither Balkenende's governing centre-right alliance with VVD liberals nor a left-wing combination of Labour, the Socialists and Green Left would win a parliamentary majority, making protracted coalition negotiations likely. The election, originally scheduled for May 2007, was called after the centre-right coalition collapsed in June in a row over immigration policy. But the election campaign focused largely on welfare reforms Balkenende says have helped the economy, instead of immigration issues that previously divided the nation. The Christian Democrats (CDA) have rebounded amid accelerating economic growth and falling unemployment. Just after casting his vote in Capelle aan de Ijssel, Balkenende said under his leadership the country was better off but refused to be drawn into a question about the banning of the veil. "We have been very successful during the last years. If you look to what happened in 2002 there was a lot of criticism to the Dutch population and we've changed things. We were behind in Europe and now we are really one of the front runners," Balkenende said. The last opinion polls by Maurice de Hond and Interview-NSS both gave the CDA a four-seat lead over Labour in the 150-seat parliament, down from about 10 seats a week ago, but still making Balkenende's party the largest in the assembly. Balkenende's centre-right government has implemented some of Europe's toughest immigration and integration laws since the killings of Islam critic and filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004 and popular anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn, who was murdered by an animal-rights activist in 2002. That has undermined support for far-right parties. Socialist party (SP) leader Jan Marijnessen could tip the balance in the elections with the CDA holding only a narrow lead in opinion polls and many voters undecided. The 54-year-old Marijnessen has won popularity over the years as Dutch politics' sharpest debater with voters warming to his depiction of the SP as crusader for social justice and to his personal image as an honest, selfless fighter for the rights of others. Balkenende's coalition partner Marc Rutte, leader of the VVD (Liberals) cast his vote at The Hague. Outside, a lone protester held a banner criticising Balkenende's government for taking part in the war in Iraq. Dutch daily Volkskrant had reported intelligence officers had abused dozens of Iraqi prisoners by hosing them with water to keep them awake, exposing them to bright light and blasting them with noise during heavy-handed interrogations. The protester said he would vote for the Socialist Party because he saw it as the only one to have made a stand on Iraq. "I want to vote for Jan Marijnessen because he has very consistent policy on the war in Iraq. He was against it and this is the only political party who was against the war," said student Mark Vreuls. "I voted against iraq so i voted for Green Left because everything is the same except they voted against Iraq," said another voter Peter. Turnout is predicted to be about 80 percent of the 12 million people registered to vote. About 10 percent of the electorate is of immigrant origin -- traditionally under-represented in opinion polls and usually strong supporters of Labour.

ITN Source | November 22, 2006

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