Wilders loses power: D66 in sight as the new winner of the parliamentary election!

Wilders loses power: D66 in sight as the new winner of the parliamentary election!

In the Netherlands, where the political landscape is in flux after just two years of Geert Wilders' presence as the strongest force, the first election forecasts for the upcoming parliamentary elections have made big waves. The left-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) led by Rob Jetten are seen as the new favorites. This development follows forecasts showing that D66 can hope for 27 out of 150 seats in parliament, while Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) is estimated to have 25 seats. This would be a significant decrease compared to the 37 seats that the PVV won in the last election, as oz-online.de reports.

What led to this upheaval? The signs point to new elections as the previous coalition, which was the furthest right in the history of the Netherlands, collapsed after just eleven months. Disputes over tough anti-migration policies led Wilders to withdraw from government, even though his party was the strongest coalition partner. Instead, the independent Dick Schoof took power as Prime Minister before offering to resign after the coalition collapsed. This resignation made way for the current elections, which were urgently needed after all major parties had ruled out a coalition with Wilders.

The elections and their meaning

Around 13 million voters have now been called to the polls to elect 150 representatives for the Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer). A total of 27 parties are taking part in this competition, including 15 parties that are already represented in parliament. There is no barrier clause, which increases the chances for smaller parties. Polls show a neck-and-neck race between Wilders' PVV, D66 and the right-wing liberal ruling party VVD, which is estimated to have 23 seats. The red-green alliance of GroenLinks and PvdA is expected to win around 20 seats, while the Christian Democrats could get 19 seats, according to n-tv.de.

Against this background, Wilders remains popular despite his decline and many of his supporters blame the other parties for the failure of the last government. He promises nothing less than a “total ban on asylum” and the deployment of the army at the borders. Nevertheless, uncertainties are emerging in the political landscape as no major party wants to work with the PVV, which could make it difficult to form a stable coalition.

A look into the future

The central issues of the election campaign focus on asylum and migration, the housing crisis and healthcare costs. Many voters have not yet made their decision, which could lead to unexpected results. In addition to Rob Jetten from D66, Frans Timmermans from GroenLinks-PvdA, Henri Bontenbal from the Christian Democrats (CDA) and Dilan Yesilgöz from the VVD are also mentioned as possible prime ministers. The outcome of the election could be important not only for the Netherlands, but also for Germany, as the neighbors are closely interconnected, both economically and politically.

The latest forecasts could fundamentally change the political landscape in the Netherlands and make the election an exciting event worth following. The constant ups and downs of the party landscape and the constantly changing alliances show how dynamic politics has remained in this part of Europe.