According to the latest projections, the party combination will secure 8 seats, one seat fewer than in the previous European elections in 2019. The far-right PVV also comes out with 8 seats. The statistical margin per party is plus or minus 1 seat, meaning the actual result (Sunday evening or Monday morning) will be decisive.
Most EU countries hold elections on Sunday. National or regional elections are also held on Sundays in most European countries. The Netherlands traditionally votes on weekdays.
The projection of the results in the Netherlands for the European elections, in which GroenLinks-PvdA seems to become the largest party, shows that the PVV's surge last November is, for now, a one-time occurrence. At that time, the Netherlands shifted sharply to the right.
The PVV’s gain has not gone unnoticed abroad. It is called a ‘surprising’ result and is predicted to be a precursor to a European shift to the right.
"Right-wing and far-right parties are expected to make significant electoral gains in many of the 27 EU member states, and the preliminary results in the Netherlands seem to foreshadow this," writes the BBC.
But the British broadcaster also notes that Geert Wilders’ PVV has not managed to repeat its nationwide surge. Left-wing and centrist parties elsewhere in the EU will take courage from the results in the Netherlands.