I'm a bit boring, admits Dutch PM

Mr Balkenende succeeded Wim Kok as Dutch premier

Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has admitted he may be "a bit boring" but added that this was not necessarily a bad thing.

Speaking at a meeting of his Christian Democrat party in the town of Hoorn, Mr Balkenende conceded that "a bit of cheerfulness surely wouldn't hurt".

However, he turned down a suggestion to go campaigning in discos and nightclubs ahead of next year's general election.

It was a good idea, he agreed, but he himself was the wrong man for the job.

Last year, Belgium was forced to apologise after its Foreign Minister, Karel De Gucht, described Mr Balkenende as a mix between Harry Potter and a "brave righteous bourgeois" without charisma.

Mr Balkenende has been Dutch prime minister since 2002, entering the lower chamber of parliament, or Tweede Kamer, just four years earlier.

He holds a degree in economics and law, and is a devout Calvinist.