LEADAN, The Netherlands – Mark Rutte, one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders, saw his party, the Freedom and Democracy, win a landslide victory in the Dutch election on Wednesday, installing him for a fourth term as prime minister of the Netherlands.
“We have to bring this country back to where it should be, as one of the best performing countries in the world,” Mr Ratte said in a televised victory speech. “I still have enough energy for another 10 years.”
Mr Rute, who has called his party “center-right”, will now have to form alliances with other parties to gain a majority in parliament. Liberal-Democratic Party D66, led by former United Nations diplomat Sigrid Kag. Came second. Mr. Rutte and Ms. Kaag will lead negotiations on the formation of a new government.
According to exit polls published by the public broadcaster NOS on Wednesday, Mr Rutte’s party won three seats in 2017 compared to similar elections.
Mr Rutte and his cabinet resigned in January over a scandal perpetrated by tax officials, mostly poor people who made administrative mistakes in their requests for child benefits. Many were forced to pay back the benefits they had received after losing money.
Although the scandal did not play a significant role during the campaign, Mr. Rutte did not issue mandatory policies regarding coronavirus. He and his cabinet remained in a care role until the election to manage the epidemic response.
“This has been a Corona election, and most of the authorities have been rewarded,” said Tom-Jan Meuse, political columnist for NRC Handlesblad. He said the victory scattered by various right-wing parties could not go beyond the normal threshold of about 18 per cent.
“These elections are a victory for the parties in the political middle, there is no change in the radical right and there is a loss on the left.”
Mr Mios said he did not expect a big shift in policy, but there would be more pressure on Mark Root to keep pro-European policies, the parties of which he rules.
Ms. Kaag, a career diplomat who speaks several languages, including Arabic, is a staunch supporter of the European Union, as well as her party. He served in the outgoing cabinet as Minister of International Trade and Development.
Last May, Mr Route led a group of nations that refused to pay a blank check to support their economies during an epidemic in southern European countries. If he enters into an alliance with the D66, he will now be forced to compromise on such an attitude.
Voters in the Netherlands voted in one of the first major European elections to be held during the coronavirus epidemic that swept across the continent one wave after another.
Neighboring Germany is also entering a tumultuous election season, with national and state votes set to come in a year that will end Angela Merkel’s 16-year chancellorship.
Geert Wilders, a populist who opposed immigration from Muslim countries and called for a ban on the Koran, saw his party lose two Freedom seats, although it remained the third largest.
Another right-wing party, the Forum for Democracy, led by Thierry Baudet, at the height of its popularity, appeared ready to win 26 seats, according to opinion polls conducted in 2019, but public outcry has led some leading politicians to make their own start. Party. Mr Baudet’s party did worse than expected from opinion polls, which saw them at gaining about eight seats.
Elections have been held for the first time in Europe since the coronavirus outbreak last spring, and frequent lockdowns across the continent have led to an increase in deaths. Portugal voted in the presidential election in January, and re-elected center-right Marcelo Rebello de Sosa for a second term.
The epidemic has changed due to the general dynamism of holding elections in the Netherlands, but voting on Wednesday is unlikely to be affected. There was also a long line of socially inclined voters waiting early in the morning at the historic historic center of Leiden, a university town near The Hague. At many polling stations, voters were allowed to take home red pencils they used for their polls, a measure to prevent the virus from spreading.
“By no means do I want to convey that I recommend for the mother to be inactive,” said Niels Rommis, a civil servant. “Everyone was super chill,” he said, happily showing off his free red pencil. “Civil duty,” he said with a smile.
Polling stations were open nationwide from Monday to allow weaker voters to avoid crowds. More than 70 voters were encouraged to vote by mail. And the campaign was mainly on television, making it difficult for voters to confront spontaneous politicians, as is common practice in the Netherlands.
Coronavirus cases are re-emerging in the Netherlands, prompting authorities to issue a third-wave warning. Last year, he extended Mr Rutney’s government testing until November, and now, the vaccination process is moving at a slower pace.
However, local issues, not the government’s coronavirus management, dominate the election campaign.
Mr Rutte, who has been in power since 2010, was also focusing on the broader policies of the campaign, with opponents repeatedly questioning his government’s cutbacks on health care, policing and other essential services.
Mr Rute has denied any involvement with Mr Wilders’ Freedom Party, which means he will have to deal with other parties. Wednesday’s vote puts a record 17 parties in the 150-seat Dutch parliament.
