THE HAGUE, 09/01/03 - The Christian democrats (CDA) plan extra savings of 9.5 billion euros in the next four years, of which 2.1 billion is intended for new spending in areas including healthcare and education. The net savings of 7.4 billion are to produce a budget surplus of 0.5 percent by 2007.

CDA leader and caretaker Premier Jan Peter Balkenende presented his party's adapted election program yesterday. Like other parties, the CDA has responded to the latest projections of the Central Planning Bureau (CPB), which recently showed that the next government must expect a 10 billion euro budget shortfall.

Balkenende called his plans more social than those of the conservatives (VVD) and financially sounder than those of labour (PvdA). The PvdA claims a budget surplus of 0.3 percent in 2007, but in reality, their program would produce a deficit of 0.7 percent, said Balkenende. VVD leader Gerrit Zalm had already drawn this conclusion on Tuesday evening and accused the PvdA of "Miraculous calculations. "

If the PvdA does not become sounder financially, Balkenende has little interest in a CDA-PvdA coalition. "I would not take responsibility for such a cabinet," he said. Balkenende added he still has a preference for continuing the partnership with the VVD.

Like the VVD, PvdA and the center-left D66, the CDA does not want collective (CAO) pay increases to rise above the level of inflation in the next four years. But contrary to earlier media reports, the party now sees this yielding savings of 2.8 billion euros, not 4 billion. The VVD claims wage moderation will yield 4 billion, while the PvdA is counting on just 2 billion.

In addition, the CDA plans to save 1.3 billion by tackling bureaucracy. Maintaining the local property tax (OZB) after all would yield 2 billion. Abolition of the OZB for households had under pressure from the VVD been included in last summer's coalition accord between the CDA, VVD and Pim Fortuyn List (LPF).

The CDA also clashes with the VVD on 'Kok's quarter,' the extra fuel excise duty of 0.25 guilders (0.115 euros). The CDA wants to keep this levy, a temporary measure dating from the beginning of the 1990s, yielding half a billion euros. As well, the party would raise the tobacco duty by 25 cents to 2007, and it wants to prune 0.5 billion from the forest of subsidies.

The CDA will allocate 1 billion euros to compensate for the rise in health insurance premiums, and half a billion towards improving education and healthcare. Proceeds from 'Kok's quarter' will be used for road-widening and improving the public transport infrastructure. For nature management, 100 million euros would remain.