Amsterdam  - Dutch Christian Democrats are getting ready for the possibility its party leader and current prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende might leave national politics to become the first president of the European Union, Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported on Friday.

NOS says "sources close to the prime minister" confirm that Balkenende, who publicly insists he is not a candidate for the job, would be interested in becoming the EU's first president.

The same sources also told NOS that if Balkekende were to leave to Brussels, Christian Democrats would prefer Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen to become the new prime minister rather than call early elections.

Opinion polls say the two largest coalition parties Christian Democrats and Labour would lose out dramatically if elections were to be held today, while both the left liberal D'66 and the extreme rightist Freedom Party would gain spectacularly.

Government coalition partners Labour and Christian Union oppose Balkenende's possible departure to European politics and insist his responsibility lies in the Netherlands.

Balkenende, 53, formerly was a law professor at the Christian Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam specializing in Christianity and public social policy. Following a part-time career in local politics, he was elected to the national parliament in 1998.

He first became prime minister in 2002 and in 2006 presented his fourth government coalition still ruling today. (dpa)