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Rob Jettens's D66 party registered major gains in the Netherlands' general election, emerging neck-and-neck with the Freedom Party (PVV) led by Geert Wilders, whose support among voters sharply declined compared to last year's record performance, Al Jazeera reported.
With over 90 per cent of the votes counted early on Thursday, projections showed both D66 and PVV securing 26 seats each in the 150-member lower house of Parliament. The outcome signals a dramatic fall for Wilders. Exit polls and early counts had suggested a narrow win for D66, led by 38-year-old Rob Jetten, followed closely by Wilders. However, updated tallies pointed to a slightly stronger showing for the PVV. Despite this, Wilders appears unlikely to become prime minister, as all mainstream parties have ruled out joining forces with him. Addressing supporters on Wednesday night, Wilders admitted disappointment over the seat loss but pledged to continue his political fight from the opposition benches. "Of course, we would have liked to win more seats, and I regret the loss, but it's not as if we were wiped off the map," he said. The results have opened the door for Jetten to potentially become the Netherlands' youngest and first openly gay prime minister. Jubilant D66 supporters cheered and waved Dutch flags at the party's headquarters, chanting "Yes, we can," as Jetten declared victory, Al Jazeera reported. "We've shown not only to the Netherlands, but also to the world that it is possible to beat populist and extreme right movements," Jetten told the crowd. To form a majority government, parties need at least 76 seats, making the role of the centre-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) crucial in upcoming coalition talks. The VVD, previously led by long-serving Prime Minister Mark Rutte and now headed by Dilan Yesilgoz, is projected to win 22 seats--two fewer than in the 2023 election. Other coalition allies, including the conservative NSC and the farmers' interest party BBB, suffered significant losses, with NSC losing all its seats. Analysts attribute the decline to dissatisfaction with the coalition's performance, Al Jazeera reported. The previous Dutch government collapsed in June of this year after Wilders withdrew his party from the right-wing coalition over a disagreement on immigration policy, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Dick Schoof and his cabinet. (ANI)
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