Dutch Vote Shows Limit of Far-Right Turnout in EU Elections
AMSTERDAM — For mainstream Dutch parties, there was good news and bad news from the European Parliament elections this week.
On the plus side, the exit polls suggested that far-right Euroskeptic parties didn’t manage to pull off a big sweep. Unfortunately for the establishment, that’s because so many supporters of controversial populist Geert Wilders stayed home.
Wilders did make significant gains, but he was aiming for first place after garnering a decisive victory in the general elections in November. Early numbers suggested he only managed second place — and that less than half of his backers voted.
In stark contrast, nearly 80% of green and social democrat voters went to polls, catapulting the Dutch Left Alliance led by the former EU climate commissioner Frans Timmermans to first place.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-06-08/european-elections-2024-dutch-vote-shows-limit-of-far-right-turnout