DUTCH ELECTION RESULTS

Election results in the Netherlands show the VVD ('Vereniging voor Vrijheid en Democratie' - free market liberals) and the Party van de Arbeid (Labour) as receiving the most votes, both ending up with 31 seats each in parliament.

Geert Wilders ('Partij Voor de Vrijheid' - freedom party) advances to 23 seats, passing the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA - centrists) to become the third largest group.

The final count is not yet complete, and may not be known till tomorrow.

[Addition at 6:36 Pacific Time: Frequent update of votes and percentages here: http://www.telegraaf.nl/verkiezingen/tk2010/ Note also the figures by province.]



QUOTE:
"Het lijkt er wel op dat de PVV van Geert Wilders de derde partij van het land wordt, nog voor het CDA van Jan Peter Balkenende, dat nog slechter scoort dan verwacht. De christendemocraten verliezen bijna de helft van hun kiezers en komen op een historisch dieptepunt van 21 zetels. Wilders wint maar liefst veertien zetels ten opzichte van de Kamerverkiezingen in 2006 en scoort met 23 zetels ook veel meer dan in de jongste peilingen het geval was. "
[Translation: It indeed looks like the PVV of Geert Wilders will become the third party of the country, even outranking the CDA of Jan Peter Balkenende, which scored even worse than expected. The Christian Democrats lose almost half of their voters and end up at a historic low point of 21 seats. Wilders gains at least 14 seats since the parliamentary elections in 2006 and scores with 23 seats even more than in the most recent poll-estimate.]

Source:
http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/verkiezingen2010/6905240/__Nek-aan-nekrace_VVD_en_PvdA__.html?p=1,1



What is really good news, however, is that the far left (SP - Socialistische Partij) are in serious trouble.


QUOTE:
"De SP verliest tien zetels en komt op vijftien, GroenLinks wint er drie en komt op tien, D66 wint er acht en komt op elf, de ChristenUnie verliest een zetel en komt op vijf, de SGP staat stabiel op twee, de Partij voor de Dieren verliest een zetel en houdt er één over en Rita Verdonk verdwijnt uit de Kamer. "
[Translation: The SP loses ten seats and comes to 15, GreenLeft gains three and comes to 10, D66 wins eight and comes to 11, the Christian Union loses one seat and comes to five, the SGP stays stable at two, the Party for the Animals loses one and keeps only one seat, and Rita Verdonk disappears from the chamber.]


The irony is that the left, which was responsible for the collapse of the government several months ago, has effectively written themselves out of the new cabinet.
Neither the Labour Party (PvdA) nor the rebranded Stalinists (SP) have much appetite for a coalition that includes Geert Wilders - and, as the third party, the PVV cannot be ignored.

As it stands the next government might be an odd alliance of Liberals (VVD), Centrists (CDA), and "people with strong opinions" (PVV).
In order to increase stability, D66 should probably be included - the Democrats of 1966 have for a long time been a voice of sanity and intelligence in Dutch politics (which explains why they aren't a very large party).