With 98% of votes counted, D66 held a narrow lead of around 2,300 votes. Wilders’ party suffered a sharp decline from its record 2023 performance, and all major parties have ruled out forming a coalition with him, leaving PVV out of government.
Jetten celebrated with supporters, pledging to tackle housing shortages, invest in education, and manage immigration, Reuters notes.
Forming a coalition will be challenging, with at least four parties needed to reach a majority, potentially including the Christian Democrats, VVD, and the Greens-Labour alliance.
Talks are expected to take months, but the election underscores a rebound for centrist and progressive forces in the Netherlands.
Democrats 66 (D66) party members celebrate after the polls closed in the Dutch general election, in Leiden, The Netherlands, 29 October 2025. The Netherlands held an early general election on 29 October, to elect a new House of Representatives. Photo: ROBIN UTRECHT/PAP/EPA
The Dutch choose optimism over anti-immigrant populism, says 'The Economist'
The British weekly noted that on the eve of the elections, Jetten, 38, faced off against Wilders, 62, the hard-right populist leader of the Freedom Party.
In the paper’s view, Dutch voters chose optimism: D66 came first with 18% of the vote, and Jetten was set to become the country’s youngest and first openly gay prime minister.
Wilders’ PVV fell to 25 seats and would remain out of government. While coalition talks would be tricky, the election marked a shift from protest politics to a more positive, forward-looking mood.
Party for Freedom (PVV) led by Geert Wilders speaks to the media about the first results in the Dutch general election, in The Hague, The Netherlands. The Netherlands held an early general election on 29 October, to elect a new House of Representatives. Photo: LAURENS VAN PUTTEN/PAP/EPA
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Source: IAR/Reuters/The Economist