Dutch head for January election

Balkenende ran the shortest-lived post-war government

Dutch political parties are preparing for a fresh general election on 22 January - only eight months after doing battle in the previous poll.

The new date was announced after Queen Beatrix finally accepted the resignation of the collapsed coalition government on Monday.

The centre-right coalition, led by Jan-Peter Balkenende, fell apart last Wednesday after an internal row in one of the member parties, the Pim Fortuyn List.

The crisis erupted only days after Queen Beatrix's bereavement

It was the shortest-lived coalition in Dutch post-war history.

Mr Balkenende told parliament last week that his government had collapsed, but formal procedures were delayed as Queen Beatrix had just held the funeral of her late husband, Prince Claus.

She hosted talks on Monday between Mr Balkenende, the chairmen of the two houses of parliament and her chief political adviser, in her first public role since the funeral.

"On the basis... of extensive advice, the queen has asked the outgoing cabinet to dissolve parliament in a short time. The elections will be held on 22 January," said a government statement.

Power struggle

Mr Balkenende's Christian Democrats had entered the pact with the LPF and the liberal VVD party, after the LPF took second place in May's poll.

The LPF's support had apparently been buoyed by a sympathy vote after the murder of the charismatic Mr Fortuyn shortly before polling day.

But without Mr Fortuyn, the party became embroiled in internal feuding, culminating in a personal power struggle between cabinet ministers Eduard Bomhoff and Herman Heinsbroek.

Pim Fortuyn's party became bogged down in bickering

Both men finally resigned on Wednesday morning, but it was too late the save the coalition.

The LPF - which has seen its support collapse in the opinion polls - asked the queen to persuade the three parties to have another go at keeping the coalition alive.

But after the talks, Mr Balkenende insisted that other parties had disagreed, believing fresh elections were the only way forward.

"Under these circumstances, the majority of the parliament saw no other alternative but to hold new elections," Mr Balkenende was quoted as saying by Dutch news agency ANP.

Opinion surveys suggest the Christian Democrats and the liberals will probably take enough votes to secure a majority without having to rely on the LPF.

Caretaker

The LPF is currently predicted to take only four seats in a new election - compared with the 26 it took in May.

Mr Balkenende will head a caretaker government which will run the country until the vote.

Speculation that the Dutch political crisis might hinder European enlargement has receded.

The Christian Democrats and liberals have worked out a compromise on the issue, agreeing not to veto the membership of any of the 10 frontrunners if they have met the standard for joining.

The Dutch parliament is due to debate the issue on Wednesday, the day before a European summit in Brussels focusing on enlargement.