Politics: Netherlands: Dutch lead in helping poor countries, active in war for democracy Afghanistan
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The Dutch govt website featured an article recently reporting on the country's standing in contributions of relief, aid, and devlopment funding for the world's poor countries. Under the title, "Netherlands heads index on poverty reduction" (Aug14,2k6), the site reported:
This year the Netherlands heads the index of countries whose aid does the most to foster poor countries' development. This Commitment to Development Index rates 21 rich countries on policy areas that affect poverty reduction.Europe > Netherlands
The independent Centre for Global Development and the magazine Foreign Policy, which issue the annual Commitment to Development Index, announced the result on 13 August.
The Commitment to Development Index rates 21 rich countries on seven policy areas that affect poverty reduction in developing countries: aid, trade, foreign investment, migration, environment, security and technology.
The Netherlands earned a high score particularly for the extent and quality of its aid, its promotion of investment in developing countries, its environmental policy and its participation in UN peace operations.Today, the website ran a feature on the journey of the Netherlands' Prime Minister, Jan Pieter Balkenende, making a brief state visit on Aug26 with Afghanistan's President Karzai, and bringing tribute and encouragement from home to the 1,000 Dutch troops in Afganistan as part of the NATO Forces there.
Development minister Agnes van Ardenne was pleased with the Netherlands' first place. 'This index shows that the efforts of the whole government for poverty reduction and development have gained the international appreciation they deserve,' she said.
Immediately following the Netherlands on the 2006 Commitment to Development Index are Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Prime Minister Balkenende is party leader for Christian Democratic Appeal, uniting most of the Catholics and Protestants who vote confessionally in national elections. The party does not form a majority, but governs with coalition partners. Since the election which put CDA first, there have been conflicts in regard to two different parties in the origiinal coalition. Both times, the issues involved led to the resignation of the cabinet and the necessity of forming a new one, but not another general election. The present cabinet, following Dutch custom, is called Balkenende III. In the Netherlands, the cabinet members from the different parties of the governing coalition have considerable power, so the Prime Minister as head of the cabinet does not have to call an election, and can only shuffle the cabinet thru a process of inter-party negotiations of the members of the coalition the PM leads.
Altho some important officers and members of the CDA are sympathetic to the political philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd and the Protestant political ethics of M. D. Stafleu, there have been criticisms from reformational members of the party that its cabinet is not fully on course in regard the needs of Dutch society at the present time. The Balkenende cabinets I-III have restricted govt welfare outlays to some extent (altho they are still considered generous in some quarters). The govt also has had steer clear of the featherbedding labour policy that has brawt Germany and especially France into noncompetitive economic situations that have resulted in shrinkage of industry and h+ unemployment. Overall, Balkenende has steered the Netherlands between the Scylla and Charybdis of the present period in Europe.
-- Politicarp
As a Special Feature, refWrite page 3 includes remarks of Drs. Jet Weigand-Timmer, an active member of the CDA who writes for us from the social-reformational Christian viewpoint.
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