Former Curaçaoan prime minister Gerrit Schotte has lost the election on the island, avoiding a standoff with the European Netherlands, which is loath to work with the corrupt politician.

Schotte’s populist Movement for the Future of Curaçao (MFK) gained one seat in the island’s legislature on Friday, winning five seats altogether, but mainstream parties did better.

The liberal Party for the Restructured Antilles (PAR) and the social democratic Partido MAN won a majority between them. They can now govern alone, although they may add one or two small parties to round out a coalition.

Relief

Dutch politicians voiced relief. Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk congratulated Curaçao’s governor, Lucille George-Wout, on organizing the vote without incident.

In an unprecedented Dutch intervention in the island’s affairs, George-Wout was given authority last month over public services to make sure the elections could proceed.

Schotte and his supporters had suggested canceling the election, which was called after they toppled the MAN-led coalition of Hensley Koeiman.

Koeiman lost his majority when the pro-independence Sovereign People party switched sides. They were punished by voters on Friday, losing one of their two seats.

Dilemma

Schotte has been barred from public office since he was convicted of bribery, money laundering and forgery of documents last year. But he is appealing the verdict and can still take his seat in parliament.

An MFK victory would have posed a dilemma for the Dutch, who are 8,000 kilometers away. They can’t stand Schotte, who blames the Netherlands for all the island’s problems, but nor could they have ignored the result of a free and fair election that returned him to power.