MPs from the ruling Christian Democrat party want to know what finance minister Wouter Bos (Labour) plans to do with any money made out of the government’s shareholdings in banks, reports Tuesday’s Financieele Dagblad.

The CDA says that any profits from government shares in Fortis, ABN Amro and ING should be used to pay off the national debt, the paper reports. Bos said he would announce his plans in the spring budget memorandum.
CDA parliamentary leader Pieter van Geel is quoted as saying that he thinks it is ‘unjust in principle’ to increase national debt by investing in banks and then use the profit on extra government spending.
‘In times of crisis, it’s important to have a clear policy,’ he told the Financieele Dagblad, pointing to countries where this was not the case and which are now asking the IMF for support.