Rob Jetten, the 38-year-old leader of the centrist Democrats 66 (D66) party, has claimed victory in one of the tightest Dutch elections in recent memory, marking a dramatic turn in the country’s political landscape. With the campaign dominated by concerns over immigration and a chronic housing shortage, Jetten’s upbeat, pro-European message appears to have resonated with voters, pushing his party to the forefront and setting the stage for him to become both the youngest and first openly gay prime minister in the history of the European Union’s fifth-largest economy.
According to projections from Dutch news agency ANP, D66 has surged ahead with a razor-thin lead of just over 15,000 votes against Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party (PVV). While official results are still pending the count of overseas postal ballots—expected to be finalized on Monday—the momentum is squarely behind Jetten. As reported by France 24, D66 is currently projected to hold 26 seats in the 150-member parliament, with the possibility of securing a 27th as the last votes are tallied. This remarkable turnaround comes after the party languished in the polls only weeks ago, making their electoral leap all the more stunning.
Jetten’s path to victory was anything but straightforward. The election, held on October 29, 2025, quickly turned into a neck-and-neck race between D66 and Wilders’ PVV, with both parties at times tied at 26 seats, according to BBC. However, as the votes from major cities like Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht poured in, D66’s positive campaign—emblazoned with the slogan "Yes, we can"—helped tip the balance. Jetten told reporters, "We are the biggest party in the Netherlands! Now we'll get to work for all Dutch people." He added, "I am very proud of this historic result and now feel a great responsibility to form a stable and ambitious government."
Wilders, for his part, has not conceded. He criticized Jetten’s early declaration of victory, insisting that only the Electoral Council, not the news agency, could officially decide the outcome. "What arrogance not to wait for that," Wilders posted on X. He even shared unsubstantiated claims of vote-rigging circulating on social media, which were promptly dismissed by local authorities in Zaanstad as "fabricated." Despite his party’s collapse from the shock victory it achieved in 2023, Wilders maintained that the PVV would "not let the Netherlands be broken up by Jetten and his people."
Coalition building now looms as the next formidable challenge for Jetten. As Al Jazeera and France 24 both note, the Dutch system of proportional representation means that no party ever wins an outright majority. D66, with its 26 (or possibly 27) seats, will need to assemble a coalition of at least three other parties to reach the 76-seat threshold required for a majority government. The most likely partners include the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDA, 18 seats), the liberal VVD (22 seats), and the left-wing Green/Labour group (20 seats). However, the path is fraught with political landmines.
VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz, who heads the conservative-liberal party, has already expressed her opposition to joining a coalition that includes the Green/Labour group. Before the election, she stated, "an alliance with Green/Labour would not work," emphasizing her preference for a centre-right coalition. This stance complicates the arithmetic for Jetten, who has called for a broad-based government that can tackle the pressing issues facing the country. "We want to find a majority that will eagerly work on issues such as the housing market, migration, climate, and the economy," Jetten said, urging mainstream parties from the left to the right to unite.
The left-wing Green/Labour group, meanwhile, is itself in a state of transition. On Monday, the party is set to elect a new leader following the resignation of former EU Vice President Frans Timmermans. The outcome of this leadership contest could impact the willingness of other parties to enter into coalition talks, especially given the tense relationship between Yesilgoz and Timmermans. Some observers hope that a new Green/Labour leader might smooth the way for an agreement.
As coalition negotiations get underway, the process is expected to be lengthy and complex. Outgoing caretaker Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who remains in charge until a new government is formed, wryly predicted, "I expect I will still be PM at Christmas." The Dutch tradition of coalition-building is notoriously protracted, with talks sometimes stretching for months. The first step will be the appointment of a "scout"—a neutral figure tasked with exploring which parties are willing to work together. This discussion is set to begin on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
Jetten’s victory is being closely watched across Europe, where the rise of populist and far-right parties has unsettled many centrist and liberal leaders. Jetten himself framed the result as a message of hope, both at home and abroad. "I think we’ve now shown to the rest of Europe and the world that it is possible to beat the populist movements if you campaign with a positive message for your country," he told reporters, as cited by Al Jazeera. His campaign, characterized by optimism and a surge in advertising spending, stood in stark contrast to the divisive rhetoric that has dominated much of European politics in recent years.
Yet, the far right has not disappeared from the scene. While Wilders’ PVV lost ground, other nationalist parties like Forum for Democracy (FvD) and JA21 made significant gains. FvD, which advocates for the Netherlands to withdraw from the EU’s Schengen open-border system, more than doubled its vote and will now have seven MPs, up from three. JA21, which bills itself as a "conservative liberal party with a positive view of the Netherlands," jumped from one seat to nine. However, Wilders has ruled out working with these parties, considering them too extreme even for his own coalition ambitions.
The road ahead for Jetten is daunting. He must not only bridge the ideological divides between potential coalition partners but also deliver on the promises that propelled D66 to victory. The Dutch electorate has made clear its concerns about housing, migration, and the economy, and will be watching closely to see whether Jetten can deliver solutions where others have faltered. For now, the country waits as the last ballots are counted and the first steps toward a new government are taken—anxious, perhaps, but also hopeful for what comes next.
As the Netherlands stands on the cusp of a new political era, all eyes are on Rob Jetten and the coalition talks that will determine the country’s direction for years to come.
