The latest official counts from the Dutch election on Thursday morning indicate a surprising outcome: a prominent center-left party and Geert Wilders’ far-right party are projected to win an equal number of legislative seats.
This result marks a significant triumph for the political center and a considerable setback for Mr. Wilders, whose party saw a loss of 11 seats after he had pushed for this election just two years post his previous strong performance.
Democrats 66, a progressive and socially liberal party with a centrist economic platform, initially appeared poised to become the largest party based on Wednesday night’s exit polls. However, as nearly all votes were tallied by Thursday morning, the ANP news agency reported a tight race, with the centrists (D66) and Mr. Wilders’ Party for Freedom exchanging a lead of just over a thousand votes nationwide.
Under the leadership of Rob Jetten, D66 celebrated its largest victory since its inception in 1966, securing 17 additional seats. Both parties are now expected to hold 26 seats each in the 150-seat House of Representatives.
Traditionally, the party with the most votes is given the first opportunity to form a government. However, with such a close count, identifying this party could prove challenging. Nonetheless, the likelihood of Mr. Wilders’ party re-entering government remains extremely low.
Prior to Wednesday’s election, leaders of other major parties, including Mr. Jetten, had unequivocally ruled out forming a coalition with Mr. Wilders.
On Wednesday night, Mr. Wilders acknowledged the results on social media, stating, “we had hoped for a different result, but kept our backs straight.” He added defiantly, “we are more combative than ever and still the second and maybe even the biggest party of the Netherlands.”
This defiant stance continued into Thursday morning, as he reiterated on social media that if his party ultimately secured the most votes, they should be given the first chance to establish a government.
Meanwhile, Mr. Jetten, whose campaign was characterized by unwavering optimism and strong debate performances, declared on Wednesday night that “millions of Dutch people turned a new page today.”