Outgoing foreign minister Maxime Verhagen has been unanimously chosen to take over as parliamentary leader of the Christian Democrats, following the resignation of Jan Peter Balkenende.

Balkenende quit after the CDA’s vote collapsed in Wednesday’s general election. The party now has 21 seats in parliament, down from 41 four years ago.
Verhagen will lead the party in parliament while the party takes its time to find a new national leader, the Volkskrant says.
Party chairman Peter van Heeswijk has also resigned, but no replacement for him has yet been found.