Geert Wilders has been defeated, which is at least some relief in the current wave of white nationalism going around.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte appeared Wednesday to have easily defeated a strong challenge by far-right rival Geert Wilders in a key election seen as a bellwether of populist support in Europe.
According to exit polls, Rutte’s Liberal VVD would scoop up 31 seats, making it the largest party in the new 150-seat parliament, with Wilders and his Freedom Party (PVV) beaten into second place alongside two other parties on 19 seats.
Millions of Dutch had flocked to the polls in a near-record turnout, with the stakes high in an election pitting the pro-European Rutte against his anti-immigration and anti-EU rival.
Following last year’s shock Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s victory in the US, the Dutch vote was being closely watched as a gauge of the strength of populism on the continent ahead of crucial elections in France and Germany.
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