Outgoing prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende will hand over the reins to Mark Rutte on Thursday after eight years at the head of four successive governments.

Balkenende told reporters on Wednesday he was bowing out of the premiership ‘with a little sadness’ but that he is pleased to have been able to do the job for eight years.
‘The job of prime minister is a very special function which I have done with heart and soul,’ he said.
The worst point of the previous eight years has been the loss of life, he said. Not only those who died in Afghanistan and Iraq, but those who died at home in acts of senseless violence.
Reforms
Balkenende said he is most proud of reforms in social security introduced over the past eight years. The way the Netherlands has come through the economic crisis is also reason to be proud, he said.
The prime minister said he would give Rutte a few tips when they meet on Thursday. ‘I wish him all the best. These are difficult times and difficult measures need to be taken. You just have to stand firm,’ he said.
On Tuesday it emerged a speech by Balkenende will cost €8,500 on the ex-prime ministers’ speaking circuit. Former British prime minister Tony Blair costs 140,000 pounds sterling for an after-dinner speech.