Dutch Centrists Win Election, Reject Far-Right Leader's Last-Ditch Bid for Power
In a surprising turn of events, the centrist D66 party has emerged as the winner of the Dutch parliamentary election, according to projections by local news agency ANP. The party's leader, Rob Jetten, is expected to become the youngest leader of the European Union's fifth-largest economy but faces the daunting task of forming a coalition with other parties.
With only one constituency and overseas postal votes still to be counted, Jetten currently holds a razor-thin lead of 15,155 votes over far-right leader Geert Wilders. The postal votes are expected to be counted in The Hague on Monday evening at the earliest.
The result is seen as a significant setback for Wilders and his party, PVV, which had hoped to capitalize on growing discontent with the current government. However, other far-right parties performed well, including the Forum for Democracy (FvD) and JA21, both of which have promised to withdraw from the EU's Schengen system.
Despite Wilders' bid to poach support from expats, who historically tend to vote for more centrist and left-wing parties, his party failed to close the gap with D66. In fact, the postal votes cast by expats broke overwhelmingly in favor of D66, which outscored PVV by nearly 3,000 votes at the last election.
Jetten's victory marks a significant shift in Dutch politics, as he is expected to form a "grand coalition" with other parties, including the centre-right CDA and liberal VVD. However, there are question marks about whether these parties will work together, particularly after VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz expressed doubts about an alliance with the left-wing Green/Labour group.
As the country awaits the outcome of the election, caretaker Prime Minister Dick Schoof remains in charge, saying he expects to remain at the helm until Christmas. The next step will be for top politicians to come together in parliament to elect a "scout" who will sound out parties to see who is prepared to work with whom.
The coming weeks and months will be crucial as Jetten navigates the complex world of coalition-building, which is expected to last several months.
In a surprising turn of events, the centrist D66 party has emerged as the winner of the Dutch parliamentary election, according to projections by local news agency ANP. The party's leader, Rob Jetten, is expected to become the youngest leader of the European Union's fifth-largest economy but faces the daunting task of forming a coalition with other parties.
With only one constituency and overseas postal votes still to be counted, Jetten currently holds a razor-thin lead of 15,155 votes over far-right leader Geert Wilders. The postal votes are expected to be counted in The Hague on Monday evening at the earliest.
The result is seen as a significant setback for Wilders and his party, PVV, which had hoped to capitalize on growing discontent with the current government. However, other far-right parties performed well, including the Forum for Democracy (FvD) and JA21, both of which have promised to withdraw from the EU's Schengen system.
Despite Wilders' bid to poach support from expats, who historically tend to vote for more centrist and left-wing parties, his party failed to close the gap with D66. In fact, the postal votes cast by expats broke overwhelmingly in favor of D66, which outscored PVV by nearly 3,000 votes at the last election.
Jetten's victory marks a significant shift in Dutch politics, as he is expected to form a "grand coalition" with other parties, including the centre-right CDA and liberal VVD. However, there are question marks about whether these parties will work together, particularly after VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz expressed doubts about an alliance with the left-wing Green/Labour group.
As the country awaits the outcome of the election, caretaker Prime Minister Dick Schoof remains in charge, saying he expects to remain at the helm until Christmas. The next step will be for top politicians to come together in parliament to elect a "scout" who will sound out parties to see who is prepared to work with whom.
The coming weeks and months will be crucial as Jetten navigates the complex world of coalition-building, which is expected to last several months.
he's been trying to escape his own party's problems with those expat votes! Anyway, D66's surprise win is a big deal, and I'm glad Jetten is the new kid on the block – he's like the young cousin who finally gets invited to the cool party. Now he just gotta navigate the complex web of Dutch politics without getting lost 
. This grand coalition thing sounds like a recipe for disaster, but hey, at least it'll be interesting to watch! 
. D66's got some serious grassroots support going on, and it's awesome to see them taking charge 
. Jetten's young energy is a breath of fresh air, and I'm rooting for him to make a difference 
. Now we just gotta wait and see if he can hold it all together in the midst of all that coalition drama 
...
... I mean, a centrist party winning is great and all, but what about all those people who wanted change? 
. And Jetten's youth isn't necessarily a good thing – doesn't that just mean he'll be making more of the same decisions we already have? 
. Ugh, my brain hurts trying to figure this one out 
. I was at a party last weekend and someone asked me if I'd ever thought about moving abroad because of the politics here. And I'm like, yeah, back in '07 when Wilders first ran for office, people were already saying he was trouble 
. He's always been a polarizing figure, but it's crazy how far-right parties can get traction without actually offering any solutions 
.
️. Guess you never know how things'll play out until they actually happen 
i'm sure he'll do a great job navigating the complex world of coalition-building... fingers crossed for some actual progress in dutch politics 
Grand coalitions are a recipe for disaster if you ask me. All these parties promising to work together but probably just waiting for someone else to cave in. And what about the postal votes, could they really swing it? I'm not convinced. This is gonna be a long and messy ride
. D66's victory is a good thing, but let's not forget Geert Wilders' party didn't do too badly either 
. Rob Jetten's young leadership could be a breath of fresh air for EU politics 
. But, now he's gotta navigate all these complex coalitions... wish him luck 
!
! It's amazing how a centrist party can come out on top when everyone else was expecting it to be a far-right takeover 
. And I gotta give props to Jetten for navigating this complex world of coalition-building - it's no easy feat, but someone's gotta do it 
.
and we'll get to see some interesting coalition deals go down 
rob jetten is goin to b de new eu leader and it's such a huge shock cuz geert wilders' party PVV was hopin to take power but nope 
they didnt even do well amongst expats who usually vote 4 centrist parties 
it's like D66 just stole da win from under wilder's nose 
. I think Jetten's got this, though - he seems pretty chill about the whole thing. And let's be real, PVV just got roasted 
. And can we talk about Dilan Yesilgoz's doubts about working with the Greens? Like, what's next? 
, and those postal votes from expats were super telling, shows people are getting wise to the politics. The "grand coalition" with other parties is gonna be interesting to watch, fingers crossed they can make it work. Can't help but feel a bit hopeful about the future of Dutch politics 
. I mean, I get it, it's politics, but can't they just make it a bit more interesting? Like, maybe give us some actual choices or something?
. It just goes to show that even when you try to manipulate a certain group, they can still make their voices heard and choose a different path.
I'm so stoked for Rob Jetten!!! He's literally going to be the youngest EU leader EVER 
. Also, can we talk about how wild it is that expats voted overwhelmingly for D66? I mean, did Geert Wilders really think they'd all just magically join the PVV party?