- Prime Minister Mark Rutte won parliamentary elections in the Netherlands on Wednesday. Preliminary results put his liberal VVD in the lead to form the next government.
- The Christian Democrats (CDA), left-liberal D66 and nationalist Freedom Party (PVV) would share second place.
- The Greens have overtaken Labor as the largest party on the left.
- Given that all major parties have ruled out a pact with the Freedom Party, a coalition of four or five parties is likely to be formed in the center.
- Turnout was 80 percent, the highest in three decades.
Dutch Mainstream Defeats Populist Geert Wilders
Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s liberal party remains the largest. Geert Wilders underperforms.