Economics
Dutch Liberals Defeat Wilders’s Party in Blow to Populist Surge
- Euro initially jumps on result, AEX bounces at opening
- Freedom Party places second ahead of Christian Democrats, D66
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte Keeps His Job
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Dutch voters turned out in force to back pro-European parties and help Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberals easily beat off an election challenge by the anti-Islam Freedom Party of Geert Wilders, drawing a line in the sand over the spread of populism.
With votes counted in all but one of the country’s 388 municipalities, the Liberal Party had 33 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament to 20 seats for the Freedom Party. The Christian Democrats and the centrist D66 party were tied one seat behind Wilders. The result assures Rutte the first shot at forming a government, although with no obvious majority, coalition talks may take months.