FvD

FvD received the most votes in the Provincial States election, according to a provisional forecast from news wire ANP. Over 93 percent of the votes have been counted. Thierry Baudet's nationalist party will get 12 seats in the Senate, the same number as ruling party VVD. GroenLinks also had a major victory, ending with 9 seats in the Eerste Kamer. 

Voter turnout was up substantially in the country's provincial election on Wednesday, compared with turnout in 2015. Some 57.9 percent of eligible voters showed up at polling places, up from 47.8 percent four years earlier, according to RTL Nieuws.

The shooting in Utrecht on Monday that cost the lives of three people and left three other seriously injured is influencing the voting behavior of people in the Provincial States election today, according to a poll by Maurice de Hond. People voting for right-wing, anti-Islam parties FvD and PVV in particular are now more determined to cast their votes on Wednesday, De Hond found.

The latest poll by Maurice de Hond shows right-wing party FvD gaining massive support compared to the votes the party got in the 2017 parliamentary election. Ruling party VVD, on the other hand, is losing support. The Provincial States elections are on Wednesday, March 20th. 

In the parliamentary election, the FVD got 2 parliamentary seats. If that election was held again today, the party would get 18 seats, according to the poll. The VVD would see its seats drop from 33 to 22. That puts only a two seat difference between the two parties.

While the majority of the opposition parties in parliament is pleased with the expansion of the children's pardon, the government parties still faced strong criticism during a parliamentary debate on the matter on Wednesday. Opposition parties are particularly dissatisfied about the decision to take in fewer recognized asylum seekers from the United Nations, NU.nl reports.

A majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, supports a proposal by ruling party VVD to build more nuclear power plants in the Netherlands. Opponents worry about nuclear waste and what it will mean for future generations, NOS reports.

The VVD proposal was supported by the VVD, PVV, CDA and FvD. Proponents believe that the Netherlands can not afford to outright reject nuclear energy. But they also point out the disadvantages - nuclear waste, the construction of a nuclear plant is a long process, and it is an expensive source of energy.

Debate center De Rode Hoed on Keizergracht in Amsterdam was vandalized overnight. The center's windows were broken and statements like 'Fuck FvD' and 'No fascism' were spray painted on its facade. On Friday evening populist party FvD is holding a lecture about the Brexit at De Rode Hoed, AT5 reports.

The police are investigating the vandalism.

With just a week to go until the municipal elections, both the D66 and GroenLinks have a solid chance to become the biggest party in Amsterdam. Both parties currently stand at 17 percent of Amsterdam votes - good for 9 seats in the city council, according to a poll by Maurice de Hond of Peil.nl, Het Parool reports.

Nine seats is an increase of three seats for GroenLinks, and a loss of 5 seats for the D66.The party that comes out the biggest after the municipal election on March 21st can take the lead in forming a new coalition.

Eleven Amsterdam political parties signed an agreement on Tuesday night aimed at strengthening the interests of the Jewish community in the Dutch capital. "With this agreement the parties state that the city will cherish its Jewish history and will care for its Jewish inhabitants", Ruben Vis, secretary of the organization for Jewish municipalities NIK and initiator of this agreement, said, Het Parool reports. 

The Public Prosecutor will not prosecute Minister Kasja Ollongren of Home Affairs for slander and defamation. FvD leader Thierry Baudet pressed charges against the Minister last month, but the Public Prosecutor determined that she committed no criminal offenses, the Prosecutor announced on Thursday.

Working with anti-Islam party PVV in his first cabinet was the biggest mistake Prime Minister Mark Rutte made in his career, Rutte said on television program WNL on Sunday.

Rutte added that he isn't saying he never should have done that "experiment", according to RTL Nieuws. "If the party is willing, with 24 seats, to become part of the power, then you have to try it", the Prime Minister said. According to him, things went well for 18 months "until it became stressful", and PVV leader Geert Wilders refused to take any responsibility.