Dutch snap election seen as major test for Europe’s far right

The Dutch headed to the polls on Wednesday for a snap election seen as a litmus test for the strength of the far right, which has made powerful gains across Europe.

Polls suggest anti-immigration and anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders is narrowly on course to repeat his stunning election success from two years ago with his far-right Freedom Party (PVV).

But with half the electorate still undecided, the result is too close to call, and a pack of three other parties has been closing the gap in recent days.

"It is impossible to tell right now who might win the elections because there are four parties tied for first place," Sarah de Lange, professor of Dutch politics at Leiden University, told AFP.

"And on top of that, over 50 percent of Dutch voters are still undecided," she added.

One thing is virtually certain: Wilders will not be the prime minister, whatever the result.

He sparked the election by collapsing the previous government in a row over immigration, pulling the PVV out of a fractious four-way coalition.

All mainstream parties have ruled out a partnership with him again, finding him unreliable or his views too unpalatable.

The fragmented Dutch political system means no party can reach the 76 seats needed to govern alone, so consensus and coalition-building are essential.

"The future of our nation is at stake," Wilders told AFP in a pre-election interview.

"Like all over Europe, people are fed up with mass immigration and the change of culture and the influx of people who really do not culturally belong here," said Wilders, sometimes known as the "Dutch Trump."

His score in the Netherlands, the European Union's fifth-largest economy, will be seen as a measure of far-right power as similar parties top polls in France, Germany, and Britain.

AFP