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‘Populists can be defeated’: Dutch centrist Rob Jetten claims a razor-sharp election victory
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‘Populists can be defeated’: Dutch centrist Rob Jetten claims a razor-sharp election victory

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The Dutch centrist party D66 won the most votes in this week’s general election, news agency ANP said on Friday. This puts 38-year-old leader Rob Jetten on course to become the youngest ever Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Now that almost all votes have been counted, pro-EU liberal D66 can no longer be overtaken by the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by Geert Wilders, according to the ANP, which collects the results from all municipalities in the Netherlands.
Jetten claimed victory based on the ANP’s announcement and urged mainstream parties from left to right to unite.
“Voters have clearly indicated that there is a need for cooperation,” Jetten told reporters on Friday.
“We want to find a majority that is willing to commit to issues such as the housing market, migration, climate and economy.”

“I think we have now shown the rest of Europe and the world that it is possible to defeat the populist movements if you campaign with a positive message for your country,” he said.

Wilders has yet to admit defeat

Wilders did not admit defeat and called Jetten ‘arrogant’ in a message on social media for not waiting for the final results to be announced by the country’s election council next week.
D66 is now expected to take the lead in a first round of talks on the formation of a coalition government, a process that usually takes months.

With about 18 percent of the votes, the party needs at least three coalition partners to achieve a simple majority in the 150-seat House of Representatives.

For Geert Wilders, the election result was a sharp decline compared to the 37 seats that the anti-immigration VVP won in the previous elections in 2023. Source: Getty / Horacio Villalobos/Corbis

Wilders also called for an investigation into what he said was a “stream” of claims of alleged voter fraud sent to him from sources across the country. He said he had no idea if the reports had any substance, but that they should be investigated.

Denial of Voter Fraud

One of the municipalities mentioned in the messages, Zaanstad, immediately denied the incidents described.
“There is no truth in these reports. Voting was done carefully and under supervision,” a spokesperson for the municipality of North Amsterdam told AD.
D66 tripled its seat count thanks to an optimistic campaign and a strong increase in advertising spending, while Wilders lost much of the support that had propelled him to a shock victory in the previous elections in 2023.
Yet Wednesday’s elections turned out to be a nail-biter, as preliminary results showed a narrow victory for D66, while the PVV briefly took the lead towards the end of the count.
Although all mainstream parties had already ruled out working with him, Wilders had said he would demand that he make a first attempt to form a coalition if it turned out that his party would have the most votes.
Confirmation of the results will follow on Monday, when the postal ballots of Dutch people living abroad are counted.
Party leaders will discuss next steps on Tuesday.

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