THE HAGUE, 10/01/03 - Labour (PvdA) excludes the possibility of a coalition with only left-wing parties. If the PvdA joins the government after the election on 22 January, this will "inevitably be with the CDA," party leader Wouter Bos stated yesterday on Radio 1.

Unlike CDA leader Jan Peter Balkenende and conservative (VVD) leader Gerrit Zalm, Bos does not have a preference for a two-party cabinet. "We need support that is as widespread as possible. Every third party that wishes to collaborate is welcome, in my view," Bos declared.

Bos stressed that he wished to remain parliamentary leader, and will not be available for the job of Prime Minister if the PvdA should become the largest party. He refused to mention a name for a possible PvdA premier.

The probability that the PvdA will become the largest party seems to be growing, although a few weeks ago, nobody even speculated about the possibility. However, pollers NIPO and Maurice de Hond now allocate the PvdA 35 and even 38 seats, up substantially from its current 24 in the Lower House.

Simultaneously, the CDA is falling gradually back from the 52-seat ceiling it reached shortly after the cabinet collapsed to around the level of 43 seats it now has in parliament. As well, a minimum representation for the CDA is difficult to estimate: during the run-up to the last election on 15 May, the party was for months expected to win about 30 seats, but it shot up after 6 May, when the murder of Pim Fortuyn made many voters switch their allegiance.