Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the VVD party and far-right politician Geert Wilders take part in a meeting at the Dutch parliament after the general election Yves Herman/ReutersEuropean leaders have celebrated the victory of Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, over Geert Wilders as “inspiration” in the fight against populism. The victory came at a cost — Mr Rutte lost 20 per cent of his seats — but his centre-right VVD still emerged as the largest party and ate into support for Mr Wilders, who had dominated much of the general election campaign. Mr Wilders’s Freedom Party (PVV) won 20 seats, far fewer than expected. Mr Rutte’s coalition partner, Labour, collapsed from 38 seats to nine. “I’m proud but it’s also a big commitment,” Mr Rutte said yesterday, beginning what are expected to be months of difficult talks to…

Source: The Times March 17, 2017 00:04 UTC