Exit polls show swing to right in Dutch election

Exit polls in the Dutch election say the opposition Christian Democrats have won by a wide margin winning 41 of the 150 seats in parliament.

However, in a bigger upset, the movement of Pim Fortuyn, the populist candidate murdered last week, has won 26 seats so far, ahead of Prime Minister Wim Kok's Socialists and his coalition allies the Liberals.

The unofficial results showed a resounding defeat for Mr Kok, whose government brought the Dutch peerless growth since 1994, but was punished for ignoring public concerns about drugs, immigration, welfare abuse and lax law enforcement.

Mr Fortuyn brought those issues to the forefront, tapping into a groundswell of discontent with the Netherlands' ruling politicians and their tolerant policies.

The 54-year-old was killed May 6 by a lone gunman after doing a campaign radio interview.

His murder shocked this country of 16 million that is a stranger to political violence and has long prided itself in no-ripple consensus politics.