Surge for Dutch anti-Islam Freedom Party
("BBC," June 10, 2010)
Amsterdam, Netherlands - A Dutch anti-Islam party has more than doubled its
seats in parliament in a national vote, though it is unclear if it will
take part in a coalition.
Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders said he wanted to be part of
government.
The election saw the centre-right Liberal Party (VVD) emerging as the
largest party, one seat ahead of the centre-left Labour Party.
The Christian Democrat party of outgoing Prime Minister Jan Peter
Balkenende suffered a big defeat.
Weeks of coalition negotiations are expected to follow the election.
With more than 99% of votes counted, the VVD had 31 of 150 seats, while
Labour had 30.
As the party with the most seats, VVD leader Mark Rutte could now become
the first prime minister from his political camp since World War I.
Headscarf tax
The unexpected big winner was the anti-Islam Freedom Party, the PVV, which
took its number of seats from nine in the last parliament to 24 - its
best-ever finish.
The campaign had been dominated by a debate over the economy, which was
thought to have eclipsed immigration as an election issue.
But the strong showing for the Freedom Party, led by the controversial
Geert Wilders, is a sign that immigration was still a powerful theme,
correspondents say.
Mr Wilders has campaigned to stop the "Islamisation of the Netherlands".
He wants the Koran banned, and has suggested a tax on headscarves worn by
Muslim women.
"Nobody in The Hague can bypass the PVV anymore," he said on Thursday, AFP
news agency reported. "We want to be part of the new government."
The Netherlands is the first country in the eurozone to vote since a crisis
erupted earlier this year over the single European currency, amid concerns
about debt in Greece and other southern states.
The Dutch economy was contracting for a year before the country emerged
from recession in the third quarter of 2009.
Mr Rutte has advocated steep budget cuts, a pared-down government and a
reduction in benefits for immigrants.
"The Netherlands can emerge stronger from the crisis by taking measures
now," he said after the vote.
The VVD, which had 21 seats in the outgoing parliament, had topped opinion
polls for several weeks. Labour lost two seats compared with the previous
elections in 2006.
Balkenende quits
Final results will not be declared until 15 June, when all overseas votes
have been counted.
Without an outright majority in the 150-seat parliament, the VVD and Labour
will now have to try to forge a coalition with at least two other parties,
the BBC's Geraldine Coughlan reports from The Hague.
Mr Rutte has reportedly said he would not exclude any party from a possible
coalition. During the campaign, he said he would have a coalition in place
by 1 July if his party won - though analysts questioned whether this would
be possible given the closeness of the result.
After the Christian Democrats plummeted to a historic low, outgoing leader
Jan Peter Balkenende resigned his position as party leader and said he was
quitting politics - though he also said he would stay on as caretaker prime
minister until a new coalition was formed.
The party won 21 seats, 20 fewer than at the last election in 2006.
Mr Balkenende described his party's crushing election defeat as
"disappointing".
"The outcome is clear. I've told the president of our party that I will be
resigning as party leader and that I won't be serving as a member of
parliament," he said.
The election - the fourth since 2002 - was called after the centrist
coalition government, between the Christian Democrats and the Labour Party,
collapsed in February.
The government fell when Labour withdrew from the coalition after refusing
to extend the Dutch contribution to the Nato force, as outgoing PM
Balkenende wanted.
Dutch troops are therefore expected to leave Afghanistan by August.
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