Dutch Coalition Partner Quits in Row Over Somali-born Politician

The Dutch government was shaken yesterday when a coalition ally withdrew its support in protest against the treatment of a high profile Somali-born politician.

Jan Peter Balkenende, the prime minister, narrowly survived in office after the centrist D-66 party supported a no-confidence motion against his hardline immigration minister. Mr Balkenende declared the vote would "have no consequences" for his cabinet after the government scraped home.

But the vote showed the depth of anger about the treatment of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born politician who became the Netherlands' most high-profile opponent of radical Islamism. Ms Ali resigned from parliament after Rita Verdonk, the immigration minister, announced she was stripping her of Dutch citizenship.

Ms Verdonk, a former deputy prison governor known as Iron Rita, took action after Ms Ali admitted on TV that she had lied to gain citizenship. As most of Holland's political class turned on the government, Ms Verdonk had to perform a U-turn and restore Ms Ali's citizenship.

The government will limp on in office after Ms Verdonk's cabinet post was saved during an all-night parliamentary debate when hard-right parties outside the coalition rallied to her support.

Louswies van der Laan, the D-66 leader, told parliament her aim was to force Ms Verdonk to resign, not to bring down the government. "We no longer have confidence in minister Verdonk," the leader said in remarks reported by the Associated Press news agency.