Dutch Liberals take narrow lead

THE Liberals have won a one-seat lead in the Dutch election, putting them in pole position to form a coalition.

With 88% of the votes counted, partial results showed the Liberals with 31 and Labour on 30. Final results of the poll will not be finalised for days.

But the real victory went to Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV), which demands an end to immigration from Muslim countries and a ban on new mosques.

The PVV took its number of seats from nine in the last parliament to 24, and could hope to enter a coalition government.

The far-right leader, with his distinctive shock of fair hair, called the result “magnificent”.

“The impossible has happened,” he told a televised party gathering. “We are the biggest winner today. The Netherlands chose more security, less crime, less immigration and less Islam.”

The result ousted Christian Democrat Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende from eight years in office.

The Liberals’ narrow lead gives leader Mark Rutte a mandate to form a coalition and become prime minister, but sticking to his austerity policies could prove tough because he needs at least three other parties to secure a parliamentary majority.

Earlier, exit polls had showed the Liberals and Labour running neck-and-neck in an election dominated by debate on fiscal austerity after the eurozone’s stability was threatened by sovereign debt woes plaguing Greece.

Mr Balkenende conceded defeat for his Christian Democrats when voters turned against the party, nearly halving its seats from 41 to 21. He resigned as party leader.