Dutch centrist Jetten claims victory in vote where far right lost ground

After beating off far-right candidate Geert Wilders, Dutch centrist leader Rob Jetten claimed victory in a cliffhanger election that will be decided by immigration and housing. He claimed that his victory demonstrated that populism can be defeated.

The D66 party’s leader, 38, is set to become the youngest and first openly gay prime minister of the fifth-largest economy in the European Union. The party received the most votes in this week’s general election.

As evidenced by news agency ANP, he said on Friday, “I think we’ve shown to the rest of Europe and the world that it’s possible to defeat populist movements” and that his campaigning strategy was on track to win.

With a positive campaign and a rise in advertising spending, the pro-EU, liberal D66 tripled its seat count, while Wilders and his PVV Freedom Party lost a significant portion of the support he had received from the previous election in 2023.

D66, which currently holds 26 seats but may gain one more once every vote is counted, is expected to lead the effort to create a coalition&nbsp government, a process that typically takes months.

The party will need to find at least three coalition partners in the 150-seat lower chamber of parliament, with the center-right CDA (18 seats), the liberal VVD (22), and the left-wing Green/Labour (20) seen as candidates.

However, Green/Labour and the VVD’s collaboration is questioned. Before the election, VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz argued that a center-right coalition “would not work” and that a coalition with Green/Labour “would not work.”

After retiring as EU Vice President, the Green/Labour group will choose a new leader on Monday.

Jetten urged the left-to-right mainstream parties to unite on Friday. He said, “We want to find a majority who will eagerly work on issues like the housing market, migration, climate, and economy.”

“Serious challenges”

Given that his party has a razor-thin lead of only thousands of votes over Wilders and his PVV Freedom Party, Jetten faced “serious challenges” as informal coalition discussions started, according to Step Vaessen, who reports from Amsterdam.

Jetten, an ardent competitor who once led Sifan Hassan’s team as a pacemaker, had previously stated that the Dutch wanted us to get to work because they were “demanding us to get to work.”

Wilders claimed Jetten was jumping the gun, pointing out that the results would only be released once the Electoral Council and not ANP, which gather the results from every Dutch municipality, had made a decision.

He wrote on X, “How haughty not to wait,” saying.

Wilders had stated that he would demand that his party have its first chance at forming a coalition if it was confirmed that it would receive the most votes, even though all major parties had already decided against doing so.

Other far-right organizations, including the nationalist party FvD, which wants to leave the EU’s Schengen system of open borders, performed well despite his demise in support.

On Monday, when mail ballots from Dutch residents who reside abroad are tallied, the results will be announced.