Dutch anti-Islam Freedom Party gains momentum show preliminary election results by Zuzana Zelenakova

According to the preliminary results of the latest elections in the Netherlands, there is no clear winner. Therefore it could take months to create new coalition government. In the wake of the elections, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who is the leader of the Christian Democratic Alliance resigned Wednesday as his party lost about half of its parliamentary seats. He is to remain in the office until a new coalition is formed. Center-right Liberal Party and center-left Labor Party both ended up with 31 seats each, while conservative anti-Islam Freedom Party gained 23 seats, which exceeded all expectations. "More security, less crime, less immigration, less Islam ! - that is what the Netherlands has chosen," said the leader of the party Geert Wilders, who has become truly famous due to his anti-Islamic stance. "I believe we should have a stop of the mass immigration from Islamic countries not because the people are bad, but because they bring a culture that really is against everything in our own values." The Freedom Party´s outcome in the elections could mean it will become a part of the next coalition government. So far about 88 percent of the votes had been counted. Earlier opinion polls showed that the most probable winner is Liberal Party, however, if these expectations come true Liberal leader Mark Rutte will have some tough time to secure a parliamentary majority given his severe austerity policies. He would need at least three other parties to achieve the majority. The Liberals are trying to push through some serious spending cuts of up to 39 billion euros over the next decade, but it seems they will be forced to compromi! se. "The Netherlands can emerge stronger from the crisis by ta! king mea sures now," said 43-year-old Rutte. The elections in the Netherlands were the first in a eurozone country since the Greek collapse.

related story (sgx17535): http://www.france24.com/en/20100609-coalition-talks-liberals...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for Cantell TV (http://cantell.tv)

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