US embassy cable - 04THEHAGUE719

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000719 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR: EUR/PPD, EUR/UBI 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE 
DOD FOR OSD/ISP EUROPEAN POLICY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, NL, PREL 
SUBJECT:  DUTCH PRESS ON PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO THE US 
 
 
1.  Summary.   The visit of Prime Minister Balkenende to the 
US received broad attention in the Dutch media.  The fallout 
from  the  Madrid  terrorist attacks and discussion  of  the 
opposition  Labor  Party's desire not  to  renew  the  Dutch 
military deployment in Iraq overshadowed his March 15 speech 
on  transatlantic  relations at  the  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary.  However, his meeting with President Bush and with 
UNSYG  Annan  received  generally  favorable  treatment  and 
portrayed Balkenende as a world leader - in contrast to  his 
visit last September.  Reports on the meeting with President 
Bush   focused  on  their  comments  about  the   need   for 
international  solidarity on terrorism and on the  extension 
of  the  Dutch mission in al-Muthanna. The press was pleased 
that  the  US understood the Dutch decision making  process, 
that  the President did not seek and the Prime Minister  did 
not  promise  a  commitment  on  extension  right  now.  End 
summary. 
 
2.    Balkenende's  Image:  Much  local  coverage  of  Prime 
Minister  Balkenende's  first  visit  to  the  White   House 
September  last  year, mocked the PM  describing  him  as  a 
"little  boy  visiting  his  big  uncle,"  Journalists  also 
misinterpreted the early morning time slot as an  indication 
of  the  country's low status.  This time, the  White  House 
meeting during regular office hours inspired remarks such as 
"Netherlands upgraded from economy to business  class."  The 
fact  that  this  was Balkenende's second  trip  within  six 
months  merited comments such as "the Netherlands  moved  up 
from ranking with countries like Liberia to ranking with the 
UK."   Despite  these cynical remarks, overall coverage  was 
more  serious  in  tone than in September.   NOS  television 
said,  for example:  "Balkenende knows how to handle himself 
now". 
 
3.  The Photo Op:  Most newspapers featured a photo of the 
President and Prime Minister together in the White House 
with headlines that read:  "Balkenende continues solidarity 
with Bush";" Bush calls for Dutch support in Iraq"; " Bush 
understands Balkenende"; "Bush and friend Balkenende speak 
about terror" 
 
4.   Iraq:  Prior to the visit to Washington all media 
speculated on what Bush would say to Balkenende about 
extending Dutch troops in Iraq past the June 30 deadline for 
withdrawal.   The issue had been a subject for discussion in 
parliament and the Prime Minister told them that he would 
not make a commitment.   The press reported that Balkenende 
was true to his word and that Bush did not push too hard on 
the issue of Dutch troops in Iraq because "he understood the 
decision making process in the Netherlands."   Other 
reporting on the Iraq discussion quoted the Prime Minister 
as telling Bush that he would welcome a new UN resolution 
that would justify the presence of foreign troops in Iraq. 
The press also picked up on Bush's message to the Dutch 
people in which he said:   "I would like to ask the Dutch 
citizens to think about the Iraqi citizens who do not want 
people to withdraw because they want to be free." 
 
5.   Editorial Reaction:  Thus far, there has been only  one 
opinion  piece  on  the  visit  of  the  Prime  Minister  to 
Washington, which ran in Algemeen Dagblad a leading  quality 
daily  (circ.  401,235). Thewriter explained how this  visit 
differed  from Balkenende's first one. He pointed  out  that 
the  Prime Minister is positioning himself as a man who  can 
build   bridges   between   "difficult"   Europe   and   the 
individualistic  and sovereign America.  He  commented  that 
Bush  and Balkenende could use each other's support and that 
they  both  seemed contented at the end of their discussion. 
Balkenende was happy, the writer said because he  has  grown 
into  his  role  on  the world's stage and  Bush  was  happy 
because  he  is losing allies, but still can  count  on  the 
support of the Netherlands. 
 
 
3.    COMMENT:   The  recent attacks  in  Madrid  meant  the 
discourse in the press was serious and tightly focused. They 
quoted  Balkenende's comments widely about standing shoulder 
to  shoulder to fight terrorism.  Another story competed for 
the  headlines  back in the Netherlands at  the  same  time. 
Opposition  Party  leader Wouter Bos  (PvDa)  made  news  by 
insisting that Dutch troops should not be extended in  Iraq, 
this  spawned a storm of protest on the editorial  pages  of 
the country's most influential newspapers tying his comments 
in with Spain's "appeasement" of terrorists. 
Russel