An opinion poll indicates almost twice as many seats in parliament for the Dutch Green Left party. If a general election were to be held now Femke Halsema's party would have 13 seats. It currently has seven MPs.

In just over three weeks time local council elections are due to be held in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders'  Freedom Party is only fielding candidates in two cities, The Hague and Almere. However, the same poll predicts the Freedom Party would be the largest party in a general election with 26 seats. The coalition's Christian Democrats would be close behind with 25 seats followed by the conservative VVD with 23 seats.

The Democrats D66 have lost a seat in the polls since last week, but with 21 seats Alexander Pechtold's party could still win seven times the current number.

Lagging behind is the Labour Party with just 16 seats. The coalition party currently has 33 MPs in parliament.

The Socialist Party is also falling in popularity, with just 14 seats in the poll, compared to the 25 it now has in parliament.

The coalition's Christian Union remains stable in the poll with six seats. The Animal Rights Party would win another two seats bringing the total to three. The ultra Christian party SGP and Rita Verdonk's Proud of the Netherlands would each win just one seat.

Photo: Femke Halsema on campaign trail - Wikimedia