Right-wing grouping threatens to leave Christian Democrats

Christian Democrats in the south of the country are speculating about a split in the party if it opts for a more left-wing course, the AD reports on Thursday.

The split would be similar to the situation in Germany, where the smaller CSU is a spin-off of the CDU, the paper says.
Sources say many southern members are unhappy at the new strategy which the party will discuss later this month and fear it will lead to more supporters defecting to the VVD and anti-Islam PVV.
‘I cannot deny such thoughts are circulating,’ Limburg CDA senator Rene van der Linden told the paper.
Deputy prime minister Maxime Verhagen, who pulled out of the party leadership contest last week, warned in Elsevier magazine the party could be torn apart if discussions focus on ‘a high moral’ tone.
New direction
The AD on Wednesday quoted draft party strategy documents which show the party is poised to accept changes to mortgage tax relief, that less attention should be paid to the ‘cultural differences’ between races and that sustainability should be higher up the political agenda.
The definitive version of the new strategy document will be presented at the CDA congress on January 21. It has been drawn up by a special committee and will deviate from the government line in a number of key areas, the paper said.
The CDA is part of the current minority government but many members are opposed to the alliance with the anti-Islam PVV.
General election
The CDA will also discuss the leadership issue at the congress. The party has been without a figurehead since Jan Peter Balkenende stood down following the general election in June 2010.
The party, for decades the biggest in Dutch politics, is currently struggling in the polls. It won 21 seats out of 150 in the general election but support has fallen further since then.