Dutch vote brings sighs of relief
LONDON — The sighs of relief among the European leadership were almost palpable on Thursday after Dutch voters turned out in record numbers to deny the populist leader Geert Wilders victory in an election seen as a barometer of far-right nationalism’s appeal on the Continent.
In the first electoral test in Europe since Americans voted in Donald Trump as president, Wilders, a professed “Dutch Trump,” did worse than expected, as many voters rejected his cocktail of feel-good nationalism, anti-immigrant sentiment and antipathy for the European Union.
Instead, the party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who adroitly co-opted Wilders’ tough line on immigration without cleaving to its extremes, won the most votes. Rutte’s party lost seats but remains the largest bloc in parliament.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany called it “a good day for democracy.”
Her chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, was somewhat less restrained, writing in Dutch on Twitter: “Netherlands oh Netherlands you are the champion!”
Analysts said the British vote to quit the European Union, known as Brexit, and the ascent of Trump had led many Dutch voters to weigh their options more carefully, and might have motivated more moderates to get to the polls. Rutte himself offered that
theory on the night of the election.
The vote in the Netherlands was seen as a test of the political winds leading up to critical elections in France and Germany, where far-right parties have sought to capitalize on antiimmigrant sentiments and on a growing anger against the status quo.
According to an unofficial tally by the Dutch Broadcasting Foundation, Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy won 33 of the Dutch parliament’s 150 seats, while Wilders’ Party for Freedom came second with 20 seats.
In his victory speech, Rutte praised his compatriots as having avoided the populist trap that ensnared the U.S. and Britain.
“The Netherlands, after Brexit, after the American elections, said ‘Whoa’ to the wrong kind of populism,” he said.