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And the winner is... Geert Wilders' Freedom Party. As elections are held for the country's municipal councils in the Netherlands, it is already clear who will come out ahead. We need not wait for the ballots to be counted.

Right-wing populist Geert Wilders, pictured above casting his vote in The Hague this morning, has managed to dominate the agenda once again. Everyone's talking about immigration, integration and Islam - the Freedom Party's main issues. Or they are talking about the Freedom Party (PVV) itself, and whether it should be ruled out of potential coalition talks due to allegedly racist standpoints.

30,000 votes
The Freedom Party's hold on the Dutch national attention is the more remarkable given that it is taking part in only two of the 394 municipalities holding elections on Wednesday. About four percent of the Dutch population will be able to cast a vote for the Freedom Party.

The municipal councils in these two cities, The Hague and Almere, right now are divided between 12 and 10 parties, respectively. The Freedom Party could become the biggest party in Almere with just 30 percent of the vote. Plus, turnout for local elections is always low.

Add up all these factors, and about 30,000 votes for Mr Wilders' party will make him the hands down winner on Wednesday.

All politics are national
Wednesday's local elections were on the calendar long before the fall of the cabinet ten days ago. Local elections are always seen as a barometer for national politics, this time more than ever.

In the wake of the cabinet's collapse (after failing to agree about extending the Dutch mission to Afghanistan), national elections have been called for 9 June. Wednesday's municipal elections are the kick-off to what will be an intense three-month campaign.

Geert Wilders currently has nine seats in the lower house of parliament (out of 150), but his party has been polling much higher for the last year. The Freedom Party could become one of the largest, if not the largest party in The Netherlands.

And that on the basis of 20 percent support, due to the fractured nature of the Dutch electorate.

Wilders already in the driver's seat
That steady support for Geert Wilders means that he is already much more influential than he was before the fall of the cabinet. The Netherlands is now being governed by a caretaker government. The cabinet must defer to parliament much more so than under normal circumstances. But not only is the current parliament more powerful - the wishes of potential coalition partners in the next government are also taken into particular account. No one wants to make policy that will be reversed after the next election.

So Mr Wilders' current nine seats in parliament have already grown in influence in a certain sense, if not - yet - in number.

Proof in the pudding
Of course, many question the Freedom Party's ability, or even its willingness, to govern. Taking populist standpoints is easier than making policy. A number of PVV policy proposals would be difficult to implement, but are attractive to some voters: a ban on Muslim headscarves in public buildings, eliminating the fee for residential parking permits and eliminating the tax on dog ownership.

And that leads to another reason why Wednesday's municipal elections matter. For the first time, in Almere and The Hague, the Freedom Party may be in a position to leave the opposition benches behind, and join the government. Governing at city level is not unlike governing at the national level - it involves forming coalitions, and making compromises.

Wednesday's elections will tell us a lot about the state of play in Dutch national politics.