Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe THE HAGUE, Netherlands, April 23 (UPI) -- Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has been accused of lacking charisma, the BBC reported, but he insists that may not be a bad thing. Balkenende, who has been Dutch prime minister since 2002, holds a degree in economics and law, and is a devout Calvinist. Advertisement Last year, Karel De Gucht, Belgium's foreign minister, described Balkenende as a mix between Harry Potter and a "brave righteous bourgeois" without charisma. Balkenende has admitted he may be "a bit boring" and, speaking at a meeting of his Christian Democrat party in the town of Horn, he conceded that "a bit of cheerfulness surely wouldn't hurt." But he turned down a suggestion to go campaigning in discos and nightclubs ahead of next year's general election. He agreed it's a good idea to campaign at night spots, but said he is the wrong man for that job.
