Dutch PM stays home to handle coalition crisis

The Dutch premier cancelled plans to attend the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday to concentrate on political fire-fighting at home.

The coalition led by Rutte's conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) had been thrown into disarray a day earlier when its health policy was voted down in the Netherlands' 15-seat lower house.

Legislation to reduce the cost of medical insurance failed after three members of the Dutch Labor party (PvdA) refused to give it their backing in the Senate.

Rutte told journalists earlier on Thursday that talks would continue in the "expectation that they could lead to a positive outcome."

The bill - part of which allows insurers and not patients choose which health specialist deliver treatment - is part of Rutte's plan to reduce its deficit to below 3 percent, in line with rules set by Brussels.

Labor doubts

Labor lawmakers in the lower house agreed to support the plan, and three other smaller parties also agreed to support it through that chamber.

The Labor senators, however, said the legislation gave insurers too much power and were detrimental to patient choice.

Labor leader Diederik Samsom is trying to convince the trio to approve a re-submitted plan. However, the senators told Dutch broadcaster RTL they were not willing to negotiate and that they would not support a revised draft.

The impasse is symptomatic of a deep crisis within Labor, which has seen its popularity decline. It is predicted that the party would win 15 seats if an election were held immediately, compared with the 38 that it won in September 2012.

Leading the polls at present is the anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, who is currently facing trial over alleged hate speech remarks he made about Moroccans earlier this year.

rc/jm (AFP, AP, Reuters)