The Netherlands held elections for parliament yesterday and the results are in: the extreme right and left wing parties took votes away from the biggest centrist parties (the Christian Democrats (CDA), the Labour Party (PvdA) and the conservative “business” party, the VVD). The absolute biggest loser was the Labour Party which lost 10 seats — to the Socialists (who went from 9 to 26 seats in parliament).

The Socialists are now the third largest party (check out their website). Their charismatic leader, Jan Marijnissen (photo below), campaigned very well and unlike all the other mainstream candidates, he has personality (see his weblog).

The ultra right wing party of Geert Wilders (called PVV), who used to be with the conservative “pro-business” VVD) went from 1 seat to 9 seats. The VVD lost 6 seats, no doubt to Geert’s anti-foreigner, anti-muslim party. Wilders is a very strange guy: dramatic emotional pronouncements against foreigners combined with bottle-blond wind tunnel hair (photo below).

Who would have guessed his party would get so many votes? By the way, the one seat he had in the parliament was his own seat — he used to be with the VVD and split off last year. Then he created his own party and he now appears to have been the big winner on the Right.

I voted for D66, whose rational, centrist policies did not resonate with most people. They went from a paltry 6 seats to 3.

This is the year that a lot of people went to the polls with their emotions, not with their brains. Fear of terrorism, foreigners, losing jobs to India and China (note: Volkswagen announced the closure of a huge factory in Belgium and the loss of close to 5000 jobs), and uncertainty, account for much of the shift to the extreme right and left.

Because the votes are spread among various parties, the CDA will have to put together a coalition, which will take a long time and probably accomplish nothing whatsoever in the next four years.

It won’t be easy to put together a coalition. The CDA can’t build a majority just with the VVD or the Labour Party, they have to get a third party to join. Neither can the Labour Party build a left-wing majority by getting the Green Party and the Socialists to join. I was hoping for a completely left wing government (Labour-Greens-Socialists) that would finally get the Netherlands out of Iraq, Afghanistan and all the stupid foreign military adventures this little country has taken part in.

I expect the new coalition to collapse again. We will be back in the voting booth in a couple of years. For more on the election results, read this article from the Independent.

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