“They will no longer be able to ignore us”: with these words, rejoicing at the release of the first exit polls, the historic leader of the Dutch far right, Gert Wilders, rejoices at the result of the elections held today in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) is leading in exit polls conducted by research agency Ipsos and, according to the 9.30pm update; finds itself with 35 seats. In the previous parliamentary elections, in 2021, the party won significantly fewer deputies, 17.
Everyone else is far behind. The progressive GroenLinks-PvdA alliance of the former vice-president of the EU Commission, Frans Timmermans, has 25 seats (previously together they had 17 seats) and Dilan Yesilgoz’s VVD has 24 (the party of former prime minister Mark Rutte has instead suffered a collapse given that in 2021 it had 34 deputies). The NSC (New Social Contract) party, founded just in August by Pieter Omtzigt, is fourth with 20 seats.
