Netherlands - General Election - 2012
On 23 April 2012 Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte submitted his government's resignation following a collapse in talks on reducing the country's budget. Queen Beatrix accepted the resignation, but asked all ministers to continue with matters of state for the time being. The resignation had been widely expected since Geert Wilders far-right Freedom Party walked out of the talks. Without the support of the Freedom Party, Mr. Rutte's coalition no longer had a majority in parliament. The budget cuts were aimed at bringing the country's deficit in line with EU targets. The austerity measures being discussed were to include a tax increase, a freeze on civil servants' wages and cuts in healthcare and foreign aid spending. Rutte was committed to getting the country’s budget deficit below the three percent maximum allowed by Brussels; Wilders opposed the deep cuts that Rutte said were necessary to do that.
Bucking recent Dutch extremist trends towards the right (a la Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party) or to the left (as witnessed by the initial popularity of the Socialist Party in the current elections), the next Dutch government was likely to be a much more moderate coalition. Whichever party won the most seats and formed a government would almost certainly have to rely on the support of centrist parties. The Labour Party leader, Diederik Samsom, was seen as quite appealing, so there was a return to that traditionally strong party. Samson, who by all accounts was seen as the “winner” of the TV debates, successfully courted back Labour’s voters by taking a more left-wing stance on economic issues.
As for Wilders, although he was not as great a political threat, he was still popular. Polls can’t grasp his power because people don’t admit to voting for him. This was the case in the 2010 elections when the Freedom Party won considerably more seats than polls had predicted. Wilders campaigned on a strong anti-Europe platform but his more extreme policies such as leaving the European Union and a return to the Dutch currency the guilder — seemed to be politically dead.
There were 21 political parties running in this election, and it was expected that three to four of them will be needed to form a new government. That meant whatever the outcome of the vote, the Dutch will almost certainly be returning to their carefully honed modus operandi: the art of the compromise.
On 12 September 2012 Dutch voters went to the polls choosing a new government - Europe had been a dominant theme alongside the economy and how to tackle the ongoing economic crisis. Opinion polls indicate a neck and neck race between the social democrat Labour Party, PvdA, led by Diederik Samsom and the free-market liberal VVD, led by current prime minister Mark Rutte. Austerity measures and the Eurozone crisis dominated the campaign. While the VVD advocated deeper cuts into the welfare state than the Labour Party, both remained committed to a strong Europe.
The center-right VVD party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte emerged as winner of the closely contested elections in the Netherlands, winning 41 seats. The center-left Labour Party of Diedrik Samsom was in second place, with 39 seats. Both parties took even more seats than opinion polls had indicated. The Socialist Party had enjoyed strong support early in the campaign, but this gradually evaporated and the SP won 15 seats, the same as its current total. One of the big surprises was a 43 percent drop in support for Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party. Having campaigned on an anti-European ticket, the party saw its share of seats fall from 24 to 15. The GreenLeft party also lost heavily, taking just 3 seats compared to their current 10.
Analysts said the strong showing of the VVD and Labour showed that voters want a return to the centre and an end to fringe politics. The results were also seen as a reinforcement of Dutch support for Europe, with both parties broadly pro-EU. A coalition between the two parties would have a clear majority of 80 seats in the 150-seat parliament and was seen as almost inevitable. Such a coalition would not, however, command a majority in the Upper House of the Dutch parliament and it was probable that a third or even fourth party would take part in the government.
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