But the government led by Wim Kok is not keen on the hard-nosed approach.

ECONOMIST: Clamping down on shooting up

Wim Kok, the genially consensual prime minister, and his left-of-centre Labour Party did best, topping the poll with 29% of the vote.

ECONOMIST: The Netherlands

Maybe nothing: although Wim Kok, the popular centre-left prime minister, resigned on May 19th, it remains unclear whether he or his government will actually be gone for good.

ECONOMIST: The Netherlands

Spain's Jose Maria Aznar, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also took part.

CNN: EU leaders back bombing strategy

D-66, the little left-libertarian party in the country's ruling coalition, briefly upset the governing consensus and caused the country's mild-left prime minister, Wim Kok, to hand in his resignation, was short-lived.

ECONOMIST: Benelux: A little bit of a shock | The

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Spanish premier Jose Maria Aznar were present, as were Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium, which currently holds the European Union presidency, European Union foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana and Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok.

CNN: EU leaders reaffirm war support