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www.sxmislandtime.com
 GREAT BAY/WILLEMSTAD - The fall of the Dutch Government may not affect the constitutional process of the Netherlands Antilles.
That is the view of the Netherlands Antilles in reaction to the collapse of the Dutch Government over the weekend.
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles, Emily de Jongh-Elhage believes that the ongoing developments should not affect the constitutional process as this is not a new task of any Dutch government that is in place.
She noted that the constitutional process is an ongoing development and this should not be affected with a collapse of the Dutch government.
However, there are concerns about legislation that have to be passed on a Kingdom level in March and April this year that would make it possible for the BES islands to become entities of Holland and for the constitutional status for St. Maarten and Curacao to change.
Reports out of Curacao suggest that the government officials there are not sure what will happen next or what to expect. The spokesperson for Dutch State Secretary Ank Bijleveld is also not sure what to expect now that the government has fallen and is not able to inform the islands on the next developments concerning constitutional change.
Most opposition parties in Holland are calling for new elections but these elections may not be held before the legislation regarding constitutional affairs are dealt with by the Dutch Second Chamber of Parliament.
In the meantime, the politicians in Curacao are watching the process in Holland to see what will happen but are not worried about the constitutional process stalling as a result of the government collapse.
The Dutch government collapsed in the early hours of Saturday morning over the Labour party's insistence that the Netherlands pull out of Afghanistan this year.
After two days of intensive talks and a bitter parliamentary debate, it had become increasingly clear the gulf between Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos was too great to bridge.
Labour leader Bos stated earlier this week that he wanted a decision on Nato's request to the Netherlands to stay in Afghanistan at Friday's cabinet meeting. And that decision would have to be a no, he said repeatedly.
Balkenende said he wanted to keep all options open and was sticking to the March 1 deadline. "I have to conclude that there is no fruitful path to allow this cabinet to continue," Balkenende said in a short statement.
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