Netherlands: Dutch electorate has passed the populism test – Deutsche Bank

Research Team at Deutsche Bank suggests that based on exit polls, the right-wing PVV is defeated in Netherlands  as PM Mark Rutte’s conservative VVD have gained the highest support (~20%) which again shows the high political fragmentation in the Netherlands.

Key Quotes

“Pro-European parties are very likely to form a coalition if exit polls are confirmed.”

“PM Mark Rutte and the VVD have succeeded

• First exit polls show that the conservative VVD (PM Mark Rutte’s party) has gained 31 seats (~20% of 150 seats in parliament) and will remain the strongest party. Their conservative pro-European campaign was successful and they have strongly caught up in recent weeks. The VVD-success is based on the strong recovery of the economy. The recent spat with the Turkish government may also have resulted in additional support. Obviously, the preliminary results imply that Mark Rutte will stay in office.  
• Several months before the election, the right-wing PVV led the surveys with clearly above 30 seats (20%). The exit polls suggest that they have only gained 19 seats (13%). They could even end up as the third or even fourth strongest party as the conservative CDA and the liberals D66 both are similar strong in exit polls.  
• The polls have also confirmed the weakness of the Labour party (PvdA), the old junior coalition partner to the VVD, which only has 9 seats (6%) and the positive momentum of the GreenLeft (GL) which may reach 16 seats (11%).”