The Dutch government unveiled an optimistic budget on Tuesday, proclaiming a healthy economy and an improved sense of security in the country, in a de facto launch of its campaign ahead of elections in November, according to Reuters. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who has presided over two failed coalitions since 2002, has been scrambling to regain support since his coalition collapsed three months ago and was reinstated as a caretaker government ahead of polls. The campaign of Balkenende's centre-right Christian Democrats is now certain to focus on the government's record on job creation and its steering of the economy, rather than more divisive issues such as tough new immigration and integration laws, which voters are becoming increasingly insensitive to. Wouter Bos, leader of the main opposition Labour party that will face off against Balkenende's party, warned the budget's unveiling was "promotional talk" and that it still fell short of protecting the elderly, improving education and health care. Also, the budget is likely to reignite inflation fears, with the Netherlands' biggest union confederation demanding a 2.5 percent wage hike for 2007 and the government's own statistics bureau warning the labour market was about to overheat. Still, Balkenende has shifted his message to one of greater financial security from recent campaigns which have played on citizens' fears over social cohesion and Muslim radicalisation. "The Netherlands is working again. I am happy that more and more people are noticing that things are improving. Jobs are being created, firms are investing again," Balkenende said. "Three years ago security was a very great concern for many people," Balkenende said, "Now things are taking -- little by little -- a turn for the better." November's election, triggered by disagreements within the coalition over immigration policy -- long a sensitive and disputed topic in the country -- now looks too close to call. Government budget forecasts released on Tuesday predict economic growth of 3.0 percent in 2007 and a fall in Dutch unemployment to 4.5 percent, one of the lowest in the eurozone. In an opinion poll by pollster Maurice de Hond conducted a day before the budget only 33 percent of respondents said the economy would fare better in the hands of a different cabinet. Immigration has been a hot topic in the densely-populated Netherlands since the murder of popular anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn in 2002. Fears of radicalisation were further stoked two years later when a Dutch Muslim murdered a filmmaker critical of Islam.
