Dutch Voters Rebuff Anti-Immigration Candidate Prime Minister Mark Rutte achieved goal of finishing ahead of anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders By Valentina Pop and Marcus Walker
https://www.wsj.com/articles/dutch-voters-head-to-the-polls-in-closely-watched-general-election-1489559400
THE HAGUE, Netherlands—The Dutch political establishment held on to power Wednesday, despite losing votes to anti-immigrant nationalists and other upstart parties, according to preliminary results published after the country’s most closely watched election in recent times.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy won the most seats, putting Mr. Rutte in a strong position to form a new ruling coalition.
Mr. Rutte achieved his goal of finishing ahead of anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders , whose Party for Freedom wants to halt Muslim immigration and leave the European Union. The key to Mr. Rutte’s win was offering his own, gentler version of anti-immigrant populism during the campaign.
Preliminary results based on counting 94% of votes put the premier’s center-right party on track to win 33 seats, an 8-seat drop compared with 2012 elections but still ahead of Mr. Wilders’s group, which came second with 20 seats, followed closely by the conservative Christian Democratic Appeal and the centrist D66, both with 19 seats. Turnout was at 77.6%.
The Dutch contest has drawn unusually high global attention as a bellwether for Europe’s string of major elections this year, including in France, Germany and potentially Italy. Across the continent, mainstream political parties are facing challenges from populist and antiestablishment forces, many of them opposed to immigration and the EU.
While results in one country are unlikely to influence another’s voters, similar themes are echoing around the region including migration, security, and alienation from traditional governing parties.
Although Mr. Rutte’s party lost ground compared with 2012, its losses are smaller than expected as his party performed better than opinion polls indicated. CONTINUE AT SITE
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