Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

By 5am yesterday, it had become clear that the centre-right Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) is now the largest party in The Netherlands, with 31 seats out of a parliament of 150, an increase of 9 seats from the previous parliament elected in 2006.

Just behind the VVD is the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) with 30 seats, a decrease of 3 seats. Meanwhile, the populist right-wing Freedom Party (PVV) has received 24 seats. Its increased share of the vote is in fact the largest of any party this time around.

The Christian-Democrats (CDA), the leading party in the previous coalition government (the collapse of which in February 2010 precipitated yesterday's vote), now commands 21 seats, approximately half the number they held leading into the elections.

Amongst the other parties, the Socialist Party (SP) stand on 15, GroenLinks (GreenLeft) on 10, D66 (Democrats 66) on 10, the Christian Union (CU) on 5, and the SGP and the Party for the Animals (PvdD) both on 2. Votes from abroad still remain to be counted, meaning that a minor shift in seat allocation may still occur. Final results are expected to be announced by 15 June at the latest.

It will be difficult to form a stable coalition government. While a centre-right coalition (composed of the VVD, PVV and CDA) is indeed possible, given that together they hold a bare majority of seats, other coalitions with a centre-left or broad-centre makeup are also a possibility.

It could be several weeks (if not months) before a new government can be sworn in. One thing for certain, however, is that VVD's Mark Rutte will, as leader of the biggest party, have the lead in the formation of the new government.

The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy was founded by seven of the Dutch political parties, including the VVD, in 2000. Read statements by the chairpersons of these parties explaining why they support NIMD.

Image courtesy of Pictorescue.nl.