THE HAGUE, 10/01/03 - The center-left D66 has cooked up a ruse to enable it to join a party leaders' TV debate next Sunday, to which it was not invited. D66 leader Thom de Graaf has bought up all the advertising time before and after the debate.

D66 reported yesterday it managed to capture the two advertising slots, totaling over five minutes, a month ago. In the slot following the debate, De Graaf will comment on the debate between his fellow frontrunners from the Christian democratic (CDA), Pim Fortuyn List (LPF), Labour (PvdA), leftwing Green (GroenLinks) and Socialist Party (SP) parties. Like the discussion, De Graaf's analysis will be broadcast live by the Nederland 3 channel.

According to the Ether Advertising Foundation (STER) a political advertising spot as long as this has never been heard before in the Netherlands. He also termed the direct nature of the post-debate commentary unique.