AMSTERDAM, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's coalition government collapsed today when the two largest parties failed to agree on whether to withdraw troops from Afghanistan this year as planned.
The fall of the government, just two days short of the coalition's third anniversary, all but guarantees that the 2,000 Dutch troops will be brought home this year and will eventually prompt new parliamentary elections.
The collapse occurred after more than 15 hours of talks that lasted until early on Saturday.
Balkenende wanted to extend the Dutch troop deployment in the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan past an August deadline, but Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos's Labour Party opposed any extension.
NATO had asked the Netherlands, among the top 10 contributing nations to the mission, to investigate the possibility of a longer stay in Afghanistan as it tries to boost efforts to contain the Taliban insurgency. |
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