Dutch far right sees sharp drop in election, centrist support surges

Rob Jetten’s centrist D66 saw support triple in the Dutch election.

The Netherlands’ next government looks likely to exclude the far right and could be led by an openly gay prime minister after an election in which Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party lost ground and support surged for the centrist D66.

With most of the votes counted from Wednesday’s election, Rob Jetten’s D66 and Wilders’ PVV were tied early on Thursday, with both projected to take 26 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament.

That was a sharp drop for the far right, even if it was tied for first spot, as it lost over a quarter of its seats in two years, while D66 tripled its score.

The Dutch election was seen as a test of whether the far right can expand its reach or whether it has peaked in parts of Europe.