Dutch vote in tight election as far-right jostles to replace PM Mark Rutte
- The Netherlands will get its first new prime minister in over a decade in a vote dominated by immigration and climate change
- A first-place finish for firebrand leader Geert Wilders could lead the country to a hard-right coalition with a strong anti-immigration line
Dutch voters cast their ballots on Wednesday in a nail-biting election in which opinion polls show at least three parties – including the far-right – could hope for the top spot.
A weighted poll published on the eve of the vote showed anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV) tied for the lead with the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
“I hope I don’t wake up tomorrow and we have Wilders as a prime minister. That’s a nightmare,” said Amsterdam resident Arie van der Neut, an architect, after he cast his ballot for the pro-European, centre-left Volt party.
Only one thing is certain: the Netherlands will get its first new prime minister in over a decade, after Rutte resigned in July as his fourth coalition government collapsed, ending a 13-year tenure.
No party is on track to take more than 20 per cent of the vote and with late polls showing Labour leader Frans Timmermans and Wilders making gains, and a large number of Dutch still undecided ahead of the vote, many scenarios are possible.
Although it is the tradition, there is also no guarantee that the party that wins the most seats would end up delivering the prime minister, in a country where the vote is split among many parties and coalition talks can take months. Restricting immigration – the issue that triggered the collapse of Rutte’s last cabinet – has been a key issue in the campaign, alongside climate change.