Lawmaker’s citizenship leads to Dutch govt collapse

New elections are expected as early as September , well before their scheduled date of May 2007, that could see another swing to the left. Political parties have been jockeying to take credit for the beginnings of an economic upswing and improving unemployment.

The trigger for the government collapse was Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk’s threat to revoke the Dutch citizenship of Ayaan Hirsi Ali after the popular politician admitted to lying about her name, age and refugee status on her arrival in the Netherlands in 1992.

Verdonk withdrew the threat after Hirsi Ali submitted a statement saying she had not intended to lie to authorities and that her chosen name, Hirsi Ali, was valid because it was taken from her grandfather according to Somali customs.

Ally D66 pulled the plug on the ruling coalition at the end of a two-day debate saying Verdonk’s policies and actions went beyond the limits of public credibility. Hirsi Ali has been living under tight security after an Islamist militant killed filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who directed her film accusing Islam of suppressing women.

A poll published by Interview NSS/NOVA on Thursday showed Balkenende’s Christian Democrats would lose six of their 44 seats, and the D66 half its seats, while the VVD Liberals would gain three seats if elections were held now.

Wendel Broere