EU election exit poll: Far-right Wilders makes big gains in Netherlands, but narrowly beaten

“Counting all the seats of pro-European parties, we tell the rest of Europe: It’s not a given that the radical right is going to win these elections!” Timmermans, the EU’s former climate chief, said. “Look what the Netherlands did: Do the same!” he added. 

But despite the left’s cheers after a nerve-wracking day, the exit poll results are a confirmation of a predicted far-right surge, which could impact areas such as asylum and migration, as well as climate policy.

It also confirms an upward streak for Wilders, who upset the Dutch political landscape by coming first in a national election last November, and marks a stark contrast with the last European election in 2019 when his party failed to secure even a single seat. 

According to Ipsos I&O, turnout was 47 percent, a five-percentage point increase compared to last election. Timmermans hailed that participation at the Utrecht event as the “highest turnout since the fall of the Wall.” 

The center-right party of outgoing prime minister Mark Rutte (VVD) is expected to win four seats, losing one.

Wilders’ smaller coalition allies, the right-wing populist Farmer Citizen Movement (BBB), and centrist New Social Contract (NSC), both newcomers to the European arena, also appear to have both managed to clinch seats, with two and one respectively.