THE HAGUE, 21/12/05 - The centre-left D66 party is not suggesting that a cabinet crisis is threatened if the Lower House backs sending Dutch troops to the turbulent south of Afghanistan, according to Administrative Renewal Minister Alexander Pechtold. He was responding yesterday to panic sparked by a D66 source.

The cabinet is scheduled to decide tomorrow whether to send 1,100 to 1,300 troops to the province of Uruzgan as part of a NATO mission. It can scarcely still say 'no', as Foreign Minister Ben Bot and Defence Minister Henk Kamp will then suffer immense loss of face within NATO, where the Netherlands' participation has already more or less been promised. The reputation damage to the government could remain limited if the proposal is in fact made, but rejected by the Lower House.

It is unclear whether the Lower House will vote for the mission. If this happens, D66 will leave the cabinet, a D66 source said Monday evening. But D66 minister Pechtold said yesterday that "nobody has mentioned the word cabinet crisis." He is "absolutely not" afraid of this.

Following the threat by the D66 source, speculation arose on the voting behaviour of Labour (PvdA). The PvdA is not enthusiastic about the mission, but has not yet voiced a definite 'no.' If the party does vote against the plan, the coalition could come under pressure.

The D66 MPs are refusing to go along with the mission. But Pechtold and the other D66 Minister, Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, are not expected to cause a split within the cabinet. The intention is that the House then makes its judgement in January.

In the Lower House, a narrow majority of the Christian democrats (CDA) and conservatives (VVD) with the support of small orthodox Christian parties ChristenUnie and SGP plus independent MP Wilders appears the maximum attainable.

However, as well as the PvdA, Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) could ensure a majority. This party considers the planned two-year duration of the mission too long, but LPF MP Mat Herben meanwhile has "no problem whatsoever" with an eight-month mission.