'Dutch Trump' loses in Netherlands election

WEDNESDAY'S high-profile election in the Netherlands, which boasts the fifth largest economy in the eurozone, saw Prime Minister Mark Rutte's centre-right People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) emerging again as the largest party. The ballot drew a global spotlight on the Netherlands given that it was the first big test since Donald Trump's election and "Brexit" of whether anti-establishment, conservative forces would continue to make political headway.

While the far-right Freedom Party, headed by the so-called "Dutch Trump" Geert Wilders, led in polls for much of the campaign, some recent surveys showed the party slipping back as far as fifth place. Mr Rutte, who asserts that he has stopped the "dominos of populism" post-Trump and Brexit, even though the VVD lost seats overall, will now seek to establish his third coalition government after the highest turnout election in the country for more than three decades.

A key turning point in the campaign may have come with the current diplomatic stand-off between Turkey and the Netherlands over Mr Rutte's refusal to allow Turkish ministers to campaign in the country for a referendum on plans to grant President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers. More than 250,000 Turkish nationals live in the Netherlands, and the result could pivot on the votes of such individuals living abroad.