OUT: Two distraught members of the LPF in the Dutch parliament
During last week's regal state funeral of Prince Claus, Queen Beatrix's consort, the Netherlands looked like its old self, a place of traditional reserve and shared national feeling. When the ceremony was over, though, the country reverted to its more recent norms of chaos and calumny. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende informed the Queen that the government he put together 87 days ago had reached a dead end. The reason: a bitter leadership feud between Economics Minister Herman Heinsbroek and Health Minister Eduard Bomhoff, both members of List Pim Fortuyn (LPF). When Balkenende, a Christian Democrat, failed to reconcile them, it...
