Dutch people rejected “the wrong kind of populism”, Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said, as he celebrated victory in Wednesday’s election.
“The Netherlands said ‘Whoa!'” he declared after his centre-right VVD party’s lead positioned him for a third successive term as prime minister.
With nearly all votes counted, his party easily beat the anti-immigration Freedom party of Geert Wilders.
The Dutch race was seen as a test of support for nationalist parties that have been gaining ground across Europe.
Mr Wilders insisted “the patriotic spring” would still happen.
The euro gained as the results pointed to a clear victory for the prime minister’s party.
With 97 per cent of votes counted, the prime minister’s party had won 33 out of 150 seats, a loss of eight seats from the previous parliament.
The Freedom party was in second place on 20 seats, a gain of five, with the Christian Democrats (CDA) and the liberal D66 party close behind with 19 seats each.
The Green-Left party also did well, winning 14 seats, an increase of 10.
The Labour Party (PvdA), the junior party in the governing coalition, suffered a historic defeat by winning only nine seats, a loss of 29.
Turnout was 80.2 per cent, the highest for 30 years, which analysts say may have benefited pro-EU and liberal parties.
“We want to stick to the course we have – safe and stable and prosperous,” Mr Rutte said.
France goes to the polls next month to elect a new president, with the far right National Front forecast to increase its vote dramatically.
In Germany, the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) may win seats in parliament for the first time in September’s general election.
Weeks before the election, opinion polls forecast the PVV winning the biggest number of seats but Mr Wilders’ lead vanished as the vote drew near.
He had pledged to take the Netherlands out of the EU, close all mosques and ban the Koran.
He warned that Mr Rutte had “not seen the last” of him.
“It’s not the 30 seats I hoped for but we have gained seats,” he added. “This patriotic spring will happen.”
In reality his party gained five seats and, as he pointed out, it is now the second biggest in parliament not the third.
But his decline in the polls was clear and it is being seen partly as self-inflicted.
He refused to take part in two TV debates because of scathing comments about him made by his brother, Paul, on the same TV channel. And many of the public comments he made during the campaign were to foreign journalists.
Mr Rutte has spoken of a “zero chance” of working with Mr Wilders’ PVV, and will look instead to the Christian Democrats and D66, which are both pro-EU. It would still be several seats short of forming a government and would need further support from a fourth party, perhaps the Christian Union.
The VVD has much in common with the liberal D66 in backing progressive policies on soft drugs and assisted dying. But that would be resisted by both parties with a Christian background. The path to a coalition will not be easy. -BBC
