The pro-business VVD party claimed victory in Dutch elections early yesterday, as voters in the Netherlands continued a Europe-wide shift to the political right and rewarded parties that pledged to cut government spending and discourage immigration.
“It appears as if for the first time in our history the VVD has become the largest party in the Netherlands,” would-be Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte told chanting supporters in the seaside town of Scheveningen.
With 96.5 percent of votes counted, Rutte’s party led left-leaning Labor by 31 seats to 30 in the 150-seat parliament, a result that spelled weeks and possibly months of haggling between the two to fashion a ruling coalition.
Voters also gave a major boost to the anti-Islam Freedom Party of Geert Wilders, which scored its best-ever finish with 24 seats.
The Dutch swing to the right follows that of voters in Britain, who ousted the long-governing Labor Party last month, Germany and earlier in France. Nationalist and anti-immigrant parties have been gaining force even in the traditionally open-door countries of Scandinavia.
The Netherlands’ governing Christian Democrats suffered a humiliating defeat, dropping to 21 seats — nearly half its current strength — and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told supporters he was leaving politics. Balkenende, who has led the government for eight years, will remain caretaker prime minister for now.
The race between VVD and Labor was so tight that party leaders canceled their traditional post-election debate, saying they couldn’t discuss the results until they were sure what they were. Returns from the 12 million eligible voters were expected through the night, and the official results won’t be declared until Tuesday, when all votes from overseas have also been counted.
“It’s very exciting, but the real result is still to come, and it could go either way,” said Labor Party leader Job Cohen, the former mayor of Amsterdam who is the other main candidate to become prime minister.
Under the Dutch Constitution, party leaders were to next visit Queen Beatrix later yesterday to inform her of their coalition preferences — the start of a long negotiating process.
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