THE HAGUE, 19/07/02 - Hilbrand Nawijn, who is to become Minister of Immigration Policy and Integration on behalf of the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF), only became a member of this party last Tuesday. He still has to cancel his membership of the Christian Democratic (CDA) party, Nawijn revealed yesterday after his 'job interview' with incoming Premier Jan Peter Balkenende.

"I wanted to wait for this meeting before ending my CDA membership," explained Nawijn, who did not want to elaborate on his switch to the LPF. But he did say that "the ideas of (the assassinated LPF leader) Pim Fortuyn have always appealed to me. I have become a member from full conviction. "

A top civil servant at the justice ministry, Nawijn was responsible for aliens policy for 16 years, until he had to step down after a dispute with then State Secretary Schmitz. The well-known criminal lawyer Gerard Spong - Fortuyn's lawyer - is believed to have recommended him to the LPF. Nawijn was still active in Zoetermeer council on behalf of the CDA until this week.

The man who is to become Transport and Water Management Minister on behalf of the LPF, Roelf de Boer, is also still a member of another party. The Rotterdam Chamber of Commerce chairman, who was only asked to become a minister last Tuesday, said yesterday after his meeting with Balkenende he was still a conservative (VVD) party member and admitted did not vote for the LPF in 15 May's elections.

De Boer still has to consider whether he will end his VVD membership. "I don't know if that is necessary. " He did not promise to completely solve the traffic jams problem in the Netherlands. "That would be extremely unwise. But there are 16 million experts who will help me in the fight against congestion," he quipped.

Balkenende yesterday concluded his round of meetings with the 14 ministers, begun Wednesday. The premier-in-waiting believes he will need until tomorrow to talk with the 14 state secretaries, and hopes to be able to present the full cabinet to the Queen next Monday.