Wilders loses support; still wants cabinet resignation

"I will not hide the fact that I had hoped for a better result," PVV leader Geert Wilders said Wednesday night after the provincial elections, De Telegraaf reports. The latest projected results indicate that his party has lost one seat in the Eerste Kamer, even though most pre-election polls indicated the PVV had gained a lot of support. Wilders still thinks the cabinet should resign. Wilders blames the results on the low voter turnout. "The PVV is normally a party that suffers most from it," he said. He is pleased that his party seems to be keeping 10 seats in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, and that the PVV has become the largest party in Rotterdam. This is a bit surprising since the PVV's views are very anti-Islam and that Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, recently revealed to be the most popular politician in the Netherlands, is a Muslim. According to Wilders, the cabinet has lost considerable ground. The coalition parties VVD and PvdA will have to look to more parties to find support in order to get a majority in the Eerste Kamer. Wilders reiterated that it would be best for the Netherlands if the government were to resign. "One trip to the King and then quickly nationwide elections," he said. The PVV did not have a separate election party for the constituency last night. According to Wilders, it was too expensive to hold one. "We don't have much money. I believe that the VVD spent a million [euros] on the campaign. We, I believe, spent 1,100 [euros]. A room can still be hired, but the security that comes with it we have to pay ourselves. That sometimes runs up to 10,000 euros for gates and people – that we don't have," he said.