Balkenende annoyed at Bos' support for Obama 06/02/2008 00:00

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has reprimanded Wouter Bos for expressing a preference for Barack Obama.

6 February 2008

THE HAGUE – Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende reprimanded Wouter Bos for expressing a preference for Barack Obama, a Democratic candidate in the presidential elections in the US.

"The Dutch cabinet has no preference with respect to the US presidential candidates. And that is true of the cabinet members as well," Balkenende said in the Telegraaf. His spokesperson confirmed this statement on Wednesday.

On Tuesday Bos said Obama was the "most inspiring" of the candidates. But in his weekly talk on RTL Z, the finance minister said he expected that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton would have more of a chance against Republican favourite John McCain.

The choice of Democrat or Republican in the White House could make a big difference for the Netherlands, Bos stressed. He says Democrats are more likely to take measures to protect the US own economy, which could be damaging to the world economy and to the Netherlands as well.

On the other hand, Bos said, the Democrats will probably be more willing to cooperate with European countries and be less hasty to use military force abroad.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2008]

Subject: Dutch news