Yesterday an overwhelming majority of the Dutch Parliament (126 of the 150 MPs) supported sending troops to southern Afghanistan, ending weeks of political indecision that was threatening to embarrass NATO and bring down the Dutch cabinet. Yesterday was the Big Day. One party of the government coalition voted against assisting in the ISAF mission in Uruzgan, Afghanistan, but Labour, the largest opposition party, backed the decision.

On 8 December 2005 the NATO member states decided to expand the Alliance’s mission inside Afghanistan to the relatively dangerous south of the country. Henk Kamp, the Dutch Defence minister, committed the Netherlands to playing an active part in this extension of operations to the south. Negotiations were held with the United Kingdom and Canada, which were also prepared to take on responsibility for one of Afghanistan’s southern provinces. However, the Dutch parliament still had to give the go-ahead for the new mission. This is where the problems arose.

The smallest of the three parties making up the current Dutch government, the progressive liberal D66 party, said it opposed Dutch participation in the new NATO mission. The D66 ministers caused the cabinet to announce an “intention” to deploy Dutch troops on a new mission in southern Afghanistan, not a “decision.” The Dutch parliament, however, would not debate a “decision” on the basis of an “intention.” Hence Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende decided, after weeks of soap-like proceedings, to declare that the cabinet had decided to the ISAF mission before it became an intention, while D66 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Affairs, Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst, said “there is no new decision.”

The principles of the outspoken MPs suddenly vanished and the Parliament was willing to discuss the proposed “intention” to send a new mission to Afghanistan when not only the military trade union but also most Dutch citizens made clear that they fed up with the non-debate and accused the government of playing “word games.” Unfortunately the crisis was not over yet. Not only did the position taken by D66 create a deadlock which had yet to be resolved, it was also peculiar what the Labour opposition would do. Balkenende’s Christian Democrats insisted on a two thirds majority in favour of the mission. Consequently, the cabinet needed Labour’s support, not only to save the Netherlands’ international reputation and its position within NATO, but also to save their own position in the Netherlands. Labour is currently doing very well in the polls while the cabinet’s public support is at its lowest ebb. It would have been convenient for Labour to cause a political crisis.

NATO responded almost immediately with a media offensive. Its current Secretary-General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who happens to be a Dutchman, appeared almost daily in the Dutch media, while the pressure from NATO was described by some politicians as “American threats.” What happened in Parliament yesterday, however, amazed many. It seemed that weeks of confusion and debate had been much ado about nothing. The representatives of all parties ‘acted their parts’ but it was clear from the start of the parliamentary debate that there was no talk of crisis. Labour leader Wouter Bos told Parliament that all but one of its 42 MPs supported the mission, which also got the support of the Christian Democrats and liberal VVD, the main parties of the government coalition.

Labour is either not ready for an electoral campaign or somebody talked some sense into their heads. Either way, Parliamentary overwhelmingly supported the decision to send 1,200 soldiers to Uruzgan. The Prime Minister was relieved, and Parliament was satisfied. There is only one victim. Boris Dittrich, the leader of D66, announced his resignation today. While D66’s parliamentary faction opposed the decision, it decided to remain in government. And so the Dutch cabinet is back in business. No more dithering, Dittrich is gone.