THE HAGUE, 12/02/03 - Caretaker Foreign Minister Jaap De Hoop Scheffer wants to know exactly where Labour (PvdA) stands on the Iraq question. The cabinet needs "total clarity" from the PvdA" in order to be able to govern properly, he said yesterday during a press briefing at his ministry.

The Christian democrat (CDA) De Hoop Scheffer stated that the caretaker status of the cabinet should not be allowed to hinder the Netherlands from pursuing a strong policy on Iraq and the tension the question is causing within the EU, NATO and the UN. The government must however be able to count on a strong parliamentary foundation in its decision-making, on the question of sending three Patriot systems to Turkey among other matters.

De Hoop Scheffer was speaking before the PvdA announced that it would not yet support Turkey's request for Patriots. He said that sending the anti-missile systems "would not go ahead if a majority in the House is against this," thereby voicing a different view than that recently coming from Premier Jan Peter Balkenende.

It now looks as though only the present governing parties, the CDA, conservatives (VVD) and Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) still wholeheartedly want to follow the cabinet policy. While that would yield a narrow majority in the Lower House, it is customary to create as broad as possible parliamentary support for deploying military personnel and equipment. If the cabinet presses ahead with its wishes, it will have to break with this custom.

Sources in The Hague however say caretaker Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is now considering postponing decision-making on possible military support to the US, planned for Friday. The PvdA can then await UN inspector Blix' report to be published on the same day. The Lower House will discuss on Iraq today.