By IPS Correspondents
THE HAGUE, Oct 7 2002 (IPS)

The new government will continue to support Holland’s traditionally high level of development aid, says Agnes van Ardenne, minister for development co-operation.

The new coalition government which took over in July will also push for a cut in domestic subsidies to help imports from developing countries, van Ardenne told a group of Finnish media representatives. The government is prepared to fight some rulings of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the European Union (EU) to achieve this, she said.

Concern over development aid had arisen in wake of Holland’s swing to the right. But the political turmoil has not affected Holland’s commitment to development aid. Holland gives 0.8 per cent of its Gross National Income (GNI) to development "and we will stay with that," says van Ardenne. Holland is one of few countries to have crossed the 0.7 per cent figure recommended by the United Nations (UN).

Holland has a budget of about 3.5 billion dollars for development co-operation this year. A third of this goes to multilateral organisations, a third is bilateral aid, and the rest is given to organisations within Holland who channel the aid to developing countries in co-operation with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The new minister says that the government will push for more privatisation in development aid programmes.

Development groups have found the new government’s commitment to development co-operation reassuring given the nature of the present coalition. The Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA) has formed government along with the right-wing List Pim Fortuyn (LPF) and the liberal Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD, or People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy). The CDA returned to power after eight years of a coalition government led by the Social Democrats.

"The key principles have been and still are solidarity and international justice," van Ardenne who is from the CDA told the journalists.

Continuity in development policies is welcome considering that the new government is commonly spoken of as "a big joke", "soap opera" or a "circus". Such descriptions are inspired by inclusion of the colourful LPF in the government. The party shot into prominence in the May elections held within days of the murder of its leader Pim Fortuyn.

One of the main reasons for Fortuyn’s success was his opposition to new immigration. Holland’s liberal immigration policy over several years has meant that about 17 per cent of its population of 15 million belong to "ethnic minorities". In cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague the minority population is more than 40 per cent. The anti-immigrant policies of the LPF won it 26 seats in the 150-seat parliament.

That presence in parliament and as coalition partner has meant that some of the LPF’s policies are being reflected in government policy. "Aid can be used as a means of inducing governments to take back their own nationals," says the Policy Agenda 2003 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Van Ardenne stressed, however, that it is more important to improve the situation in the South so that people do not leave their home countries. She said the Dutch government has begun to send illegal immigrants back, but only after ascertaing the conditions that they would be returning to.

"We also need a lot of people to work here but for some of them it is better to return," she said. Ninety per cent of asylum seekers do not fit the official definition of a refugee, she said.

There are signs that the anti-immigration wave is beginning to recede. A recent survey showed that many people who voted for the LPF would not do so again. Quarrels among its members and their lack of experience in politics has evidently led many voters to regret their choice.

Roel Jansson, a journalist from the daily Handelsblatt says one reason the LPF has not taken a view on the aid programme is that they are too preoccupied with their own quarrels. "Development co-operation has been safe even though attitudes towards immigration have changed," he said. "Nobody is questioning development aid, not even the extremists." Holland has a history of international links and the two biggest parties, the Christian Democratic Alliance and the Social Democrats both support development co-operation, he said.

Paul van Pomjeren, spokesman for the NGO Novib says that 27 per cent of people surveyed early this year wanted aid to be increased. Most others were happy with present levels, and only about 20 per cent wanted aid to be cut.

Novib is encountering no difficulties with the new government. "The minister said she likes our campaign for fair trade," van Pomjeren says. "Besides, Novib already has private companies as partners, though we check them very carefully."

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