THE
HAGUE, October 18 (IslamOnline) - Although political observers and
analysts in the Netherlands anticipated the collapse of Prime Minister
Jan-Peter Balkenende’s far-right coalition, no one had ever expected
the fallout to come so soon.
Balkenende
on Wednesday, October 16, tendered to Queen Beatrix the resignation of
his coalition government which comprises his Christian Democrats (CDA)
party, the right-wing liberal VVD party and the List Pim Fortuyn (LPF)
party, only three months after coming into shape in July.
The
resignation was mainly blamed on the squabbles created by the LPF
which is infamous for its xenophobia platform and anti-Muslim stances.
The
assassination of the LPF leader on May 6, triggered a plethora of
crises including infighting over the party’s leadership, which was
fanned by the media, and the lack of harmony between the party’s
parliamentarians and government ministers.
During
the past few days, infighting broke out again between deputy Premier
and Economic Affairs Minister Herman Heinsbroek and Deputy Premier and
Health Minister Eduard Bomhoff over the LPF leadership.
Also,
the almost daily anti-Muslim racist press statements by Immigration
and Integration Minister Hilbrand Nawijn sparked many problems to the
newly-formed government with the minorities, the syndicates and the
media.
This
had forced Balkenende to step in and order his LPF minister to “shut
up”.
LPF
was founded by the Fortuyn few weeks after he was stripped from his
post as leader of another party over press statements in which he
pressed for scrapping a chapter of the Dutch Constitution and
described Islam as a backward culture.
Analysts
said the LPF only garnered 26 seats in the parliament in the May
elections because the public sympathized with assassinated Fortuyn.
Balkenende’s
government saw the fastest minister’s resignation in the history of
Dutch governments.
A
LPF female minister was forced to quit her post only seven hours after
taking the constitutional oath after a TV channel proved she given
false information about her biography.
The
fallout of the Balkenende’s coalition was welcomed by the leftists
and foreign communities, especially Muslims who felt they were
targeted during the last months, particularly with respect to their
legitimate right to stick to their religious and cultural identity.
According
to Gerrit Zalm, the leader of the liberal VVD party, new parliamentary
elections will be organized between December 11 through 18.
Dutch
voters are expected to give the thumb down to LPF candidates in the
upcoming elections after the party failed to make good on its promises
as well as its lack of qualified cadres to steer a country like
Holland, which boasts one of the best economies in the world
