International media monitor Dutch elections closely as Wilders and Jetten neck-and-neck

Elections are in full swing in the Netherlands, and the world is watching closely. “The result opens a path for D66 leader Rob Jetten to form a government as the youngest ever prime minister of the Netherlands,” British The Guardian wrote Thursday morning. Italian news agency ANSA called him “the man of the surprise — and so it was: the rising star of the pro-European liberal D66 party, Rob Jetten, according to early exit polls, is the winner of the Dutch elections.”

Australian ABC News highlighted the political instability that has led to this vote. “Dutch voters have been casting their ballots for the third time in less than five years after the collapse of the right-wing coalition government,” the outlet wrote. It also noted, “Less than two years ago, far-right firebrand Geert Wilders led his party to a stunning victory over the established giants of Netherlands politics.”

French newspaper Le Monde reported that D66 was “neck-and-neck” with the PVV. “The Dutch elections were closely watched in Europe because they were seen as a measure of the far-right’s strength across the continent, notably in the UK, France, and Germany,” it said.

Dutch newspapers have largely hailed Jetten as the winner. But German outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine highlighted a late shift: Wilders is creeping ahead in the latest exit poll — the PVV now has more votes than D66, but not enough for an extra seat yet.

Frankfurter Allgemeine reported, “According to projections, an important change has occurred: the left-liberal party has lost its lead over Geert Wilders’ right-wing party.” “The radical-right populist Geert Wilders has caught up in a new projection of the Dutch parliamentary election and is now tied with the left-liberal D66,” it continued.

With almost all votes counted, D66 and the PVV are tied in a new preliminary forecast from the ANP Election Service. After 97.7 percent of the votes were counted, the two parties that won the most votes both hold 26 seats.

Rob Jetten’s party initially looked set to win 27 seats but lost one in the preliminary forecast after more municipalities submitted results. Wilders’ PVV, which initially expected 25 seats, gained one. Final results are still pending from Amsterdam, the Dutch islands, and voters abroad in the coming days.