The big winners in the Netherlands' local elections on Wednesday: the D66 democrats and Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party, which both made major gains. The GreenLeft party also did well. But the biggest percentage of votes went to independent parties and candidates.
The Christian Democrats (CDA) and Labour Party, the two parties responsible for the fall of the Dutch cabinet two weeks ago, both lost a large number of seats in the municipal council.The biggest loser of the night was the Socialist Party, which saw much of its popularity of four years ago vanish.
The conservative VVD, which had done badly in a series of opinion polls, has more or less regained the position it held after the municipal elections of 2006.
General public dissatisfaction with the larger established parties was expressed in the large proportion of votes - more than 25 percent of the total - which went to local independent candidates and parties. However, individually, these local parties failed to attract enough voters to become a force to reckon with.
Largest = Labour... just
The Labour Party remains the largest national party in local politics. Although it sustained severe losses, the damage was less than had been expected. The party received 16 percent of the votes, five percent less than in 2006. However, Labour Party leader Wouter Bos remained optimistic. The election in 2006 was a “monumental victory” that could not be equalled, he argued, adding that he believed these results were a leap forward.
At the headquarters of the Christian Democrats the tone was less cheerful. “We would have liked to see better results,” Christian Democrat leader and caretaker Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende commented.
The Freedom Party of controversial politician Geert Wilders fielded candidates in two cities only, Almere and The Hague. In Almere - a town not far from Amsterdam - his anti-Islam party became the biggest party. In The Hague it came in second after the Labour Party. More about the Freedom Party victory.
| Preliminary results* | |
| Independent parties/candidates | 28% |
| Labour Party (PvdA) | 16% |
| Christian Democrats (CDA) | 15% |
| conservative VVD | 15% |
| D66 democrats | 8% |
| Green Left | 7% |
| Socialist Party (SP) | 4% |
| Christian Union (CU) | 4% |
| Freedom Party (PVV)** | 1% |
| Proud of the Netherlands (TON) | 1% |
| fundamentalist Christians (SGP) | 1% |
* Results as of 4 March - 12 CET, not all votes have been counted. Source: www.vk.nl
** Freedom party was on the ballot in two cities only.
© Radio Netherlands Worldwide
A Hague resident casts his vote in a polling station on a converted tram
Email this Article
Printer-friendly version
This really is one of the best intros on the subject I have ever read. I have been doing a lot of research and have read through hundreds of posts. sbobet sbobet sbobet
Post new comment
Please be reminded all comments must be in English, short and to the point - guideline 250 words. Abusive and inappropriate comments will be removed.