Dutch Voters Choose New Parliament

AP ^ | 11/22/06 | RAF CASERT

[kiriath_jearim]

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch voters picked a new parliament Wednesday in an election that could determine whether the country's tight immigration rules get even tougher or follow what the opposition calls a more humane path.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is facing a strong challenge from Wouter Bos, the opposition leader who has hammered the conservatives for what he calls a heartless social policy.

Opinion polls swerved wildly in the weeks before the election, making it difficult to predict the outcome.

Bos says the first thing he would do if he becomes prime minister is grant citizenship to thousands of people whose asylum applications have been rejected and who have been living illegally for years in the Netherlands.

Balkenende refuses to do that and said his government's immigration and integration policies had made progress, even though "there is still work to do."

In four years in office, Balkenende has led his country, once known for its hashish-selling coffee shops and legalized prostitution, in a period of tumultuous debate over immigration policy.

Balkenende and his tough Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk have made it harder for new immigrants to get into the Netherlands and ordered those already here to take lessons and tests on Dutch language and culture. If Balkenende is returned to power, he likely will try to push through a new law banning head-to-toe Islamic robes such as the burqa.

While agreeing with most of the government's immigration crackdown, Bos now wants it tempered by what he calls a return to the Netherlands' traditional acceptance of newcomers.

[Continental Soldier]

It's only a matter of time until the Dutch are wearing towels on their heads.