The Netherlands' center-left D66 party is expected to catch up with Geert Wilders's far-right Freedom Party, tripling its seats in Dutch parliament. With both parties neck and neck, negotiations to form a new government could take months.

Amsterdam

The Dutch general election resulted in a close contest between the centrist D66 party and the far-right Freedom Party, following snap elections. D66 is projected to more than double its number of seats, positioning its leader Rob Jetten as a potential candidate for the Netherlands' youngest and first openly gay prime minister.

The Freedom Party, while still popular, is expected to lose seats compared to its previous win and faces reluctance from rivals to form a coalition. With over a dozen parties in parliament and no clear majority, coalition negotiations are anticipated to be lengthy and challenging, as the public calls for reforms on housing and immigration.

Centrist D66 party surges in Dutch general election

Neck and neck in the Netherlands. It was a photo finish between the centrist D66 party and the far-right Freedom Party after snap elections. D66 shot from the political sidelines, projected to more than double its number of seats. And that could pave the way for leader Rob Jetten to become the Netherlands' youngest and first-out gay prime minister. This is a historic election result because we've shown not only to the Netherlands but also to the world that it is possible to beat populist and extreme right movements. Some voters here in The Hague welcomed the shift. He's trying to connect people and that's I think what the Netherlands needs. I'm also glad that the myth is very strong now. I'm a foreigner living here and I think that things are moving in the right direction. The Freedom Party with its anti-Islam stance remains a favourite with voters, but is projected to lose seats compared to its shock win in 2023. Its leader Geert Wilders pulled his party out of its own government earlier this year. And rivals have vowed not to work with it this time round. We've stood our ground. As you know, we left the cabinet because we felt that the agreements had not been fulfilled. I don't regret that. I knew it could have this consequence, but we are ready to fight. We have achieved the second best result ever. Other parties on the hard right did make gains. And Wilders is likely to maintain influence over Dutch politics. If we talk about strategy for Wilders, there's obviously in the Freedom Party, there's obviously some attractiveness to be able to say, I wanted to govern, but nobody wanted to govern with me. And then it can be in opposition for the coming years and say, well, if I would have been prime minister, we would have done this. This is obviously an attractive part for an opposition party. Now the process of negotiations toward forming a government will begin. There are more than a dozen parties in parliament and the fragmented and tighter than ever nature of the results will make the next steps even more complex. Coalition talks could still take months. One party is just not enough. You need four or five. It's going to be really difficult. So I don't know. I'm just glad I'm not in their shoes. With the Dutch public demanding reforms on housing and immigration, the next government will have its work cut out whenever it eventually takes office.

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