According to forecasts, the Freedom Party is the surprise winner of the elections. But forming a government will be difficult.
Hague. In the Netherlands, there was a surprisingly radical shift to the right in Wednesday’s parliamentary elections: according to initial projections, right-wing populist and critic of Islam Geert Wilders (60) and his Freedom Party PVV can expect a surprisingly clear electoral victory.
If predictions are correct, these elections will amount to a political earthquake. There has not been such a clear shift of power to the right in elections in the Netherlands for decades.
According to projections, the right-wing populist Wilders and his PVV managed to almost double their number of votes. In the future, they are likely to hold 35 of the 150 seats in the new Hague Parliament.
Complicated negotiations
Wilders therefore made it clear yesterday that he now wants to lead his country: “The voters have spoken,” he said on television on Wednesday night. “I believe we all have to jump over our shadows now.” Under no circumstances should the will of voters be ignored. “The Netherlands has spoken and, as far as I’m concerned, this has to be implemented.”