Original title: Defeat of the Dutch far right deals the first blow to the populist current in Europe

　　[环球时报赴荷兰特派记者 任彦 环球时报驻德国、加拿大特约记者 青木 陶短房]”Today we won. The Dutch people said no to the wrong form of populism.” Dutch Prime Minister Rutte enthusiastically announced on the 16th that his ruling Liberal Democratic Party had won the parliamentary elections in the parliamentary elections held. the day before. According to the latest statistics, the Liberal Democratic Party has won 33 of the 150 seats in parliament and continues to maintain its position as the largest party. The result relieved Europe, worried about the rise of the far right, and the leaders of France, Germany and the European Union sent their congratulations to Rutte. The Dutch parliamentary elections were the first general elections in Europe in 2017, and they were seen as a “head-on battle” in Europe against far-right forces and populism. Although defeated, Wilders’ far-right Liberal Party, known as’ Trump of the Netherlands’, nonetheless secured 20 seats and became the second largest party in the Dutch parliament. German magazine “Focus” said that “Trump’s shadow” in Europe had not yet dissipated.

Voting for the Dutch parliamentary elections ended smoothly at 9:00 p.m. local time on the 15th. On the 16th, at 8:00 p.m. Beijing time, 95% of the vote was counted. According to the result of the vote count, the Dutch Liberal Democratic Party led by current Prime Minister Rutte won 21.2% of the vote and won 33 seats. Although it is 8 seats fewer than before, it still maintains its position as the largest party in the Netherlands. The Liberal Party, the far-right party led by Wilders, won 13.1% of the vote and 20 seats, 5 seats more than before, and was promoted from the third largest party in the Netherlands to the second largest biggest party. The Liberal Party has long led other parties in pre-election polls and was initially expected to win 41 seats.

The BBC said that after last year’s Brexit referendum and Trump’s election as President of the United States, European populism has increased. This Dutch parliamentary election is the first general election in Europe this year. . Therefore, this election campaign is seen as an important indicator of whether Europe will accelerate the “turn to the right.” Not only the whole of Europe is affected, but Dutch voters are also actively participating. According to statistics, more than 13 million Dutch voters took part in the vote this time around, with a turnout of over 81%, the highest record in 30 years.

The Dutch media generally praised the election results and felt that voters had made the right choice. Rutte announced that the Liberal Democratic Party won the election. He said at a celebratory rally late on the 15th, “Today we won. After Brexit and Trump’s election as President of the United States, the Dutch people have said ‘no’ to the wrong form of populism. “And Wilders also said the Liberal Party has won an unprecedented victory, but” we hope the victory is much bigger than that. ” Wilders then reluctantly admitted that he lost the election. He said he would make a comeback in the next election and stressed that “the elves will not go back to the bottle”. On election day of the 15th, Wilders once said, anyway, “We marked this election. Everyone is discussing the issues that we raised.”

Editor in charge: Li Peng