LEIDEN, The Netherlands – Mark Rutte, one of Europe’s oldest leaders, saw his Party for Freedom and Democracy win a major victory in the Dutch elections on Wednesday, preparing him for a fourth term as Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
“We need to bring this country back to where it should be, as one of the best performing countries in the world,” said Rutte in a victory speech broadcast on television. “I have enough energy for another 10 years.”
Rutte, who describes his party as “center-right”, must now form a coalition with other parties to obtain a majority in Parliament. The D66, a liberal-democratic party led by former United Nations diplomat Sigrid Kaag, took second place in a major victory. Mr. Rutte and Ms. Kaag must lead the negotiations on forming a new government.
Rutte’s party won three seats compared to similar elections in 2017, according to opinion polls published by public broadcaster NOS on Wednesday
Rutte and his cabinet resigned in January because of a scandal involving tax authorities targeting people, mostly poor, who made administrative mistakes in their child support claims. Many were financially ruined after being forced to return the benefits to which they were entitled.
The scandal did not play a significant role during the campaign, however, nor did Rutte’s faltering policies to deal with the coronavirus. He and his office remained in the role of interlocutors until the election to manage the response to the pandemic.
“This was a corona election, and most of those in power have been rewarded,” said Tom-Jan Meeus, a political columnist at NRC Handelsblad. He said the scattered victories of several combined right-wing parties had not exceeded their usual limit of about 18 percent.
“These elections are a victory for the political parties in the middle, no change for the radical right and a loss for the left,” he added.
Meeus said he did not expect major policy changes, “but there will be more pressure on Mark Rutte to have more pro-European policies, from the parties with which he has to govern.”
Ms. Kaag, a career diplomat who speaks several languages, including Arabic, is a strong supporter of the European Union, as is her party. She served in the outgoing cabinet as Minister for International Trade and Development.
Last May, Rutte led a group of nations that refused blank check payments to countries in southern Europe to support their economies during the pandemic. He will now be forced to compromise in these positions if he enters into a coalition with the D66.
Dutch voters voted in one of the first major European elections to take place during the coronavirus pandemic that swept across the continent in successive waves.
Neighboring Germany is also entering a crowded election season, with national and state votes in a year that will close Angela Merkel’s chancellery for 16 years.
Geert Wilders, a populist who opposed immigration from Muslim countries and called for a ban on the Koran, saw his Party for Freedom lose two seats, although it remained the third largest.
Another right-wing party, the Forum voor Democratie, led by Thierry Baudet, at the height of its popularity, seemed ready to win 26 seats, according to opinion polls conducted in 2019, but public infighting prompted some prominent politicians to leave and start their own Festa. Baudet’s party won six new seats for a total of eight, according to polls on Wednesday.
The elections are among the first to take place in Europe since the coronavirus erupted last spring, generating repeated blockages across the continent as the death toll increased. Portugal voted in the January presidential elections, re-electing center-right Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa for a second term.
The pandemic changed the usual dynamics of organizing elections in the Netherlands, but it did not appear to affect the turnout at Wednesday. Long lines of socially distant voters waited in the early afternoon in the historic center of Leiden, a university town near The Hague. At many polling stations, voters were able to take home the red pencils they used to vote, a measure to help prevent the virus from spreading.
“There is no way for anyone to obtain a corona with all these measures,” said Niels Romijn, a civil servant, as he entered a public library to vote. “Everyone was super relaxed,” he said, happily showing his free red pencil. “Civil duty,” he said with a laugh.
Polling stations have been open across the country since Monday to allow vulnerable voters to avoid crowds. Voters over 70 were encouraged to vote by mail. And the campaign took place mainly on television, making it difficult for voters to confront politicians spontaneously, as is typical practice in the Netherlands.
Coronavirus cases are again emerging in the Netherlands, prompting authorities to warn of a third wave. Last year, the Rutte government took until November to intensify testing, and now the vaccination process is advancing slowly.
However, local issues, not how the government handled the coronavirus, dominated the election campaign.
Broader policies proposed by Rutte, who has been in power since 2010, were also the focus of the campaign, with opponents questioning his government’s repeated cuts in health care, policing and other essential services.
Mr. Rutte has ruled out any form of cooperation with Mr. Wilders’ Freedom Party, which means he will likely have to get involved with other parties. Wednesday’s vote brings a record of 17 parties to the Dutch parliament of 150 seats.