After Brexit and Trump, and ahead of key elections in France and Germany, the Dutch vote was widely seen as a test for populist forces across the west. They turned out in large numbers and prevented Geert Wilders’ anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-EU Freedom party from delivering the populist “revolution” he had so fervently promised. With less than 13% of the vote, the Dutch far-right failed to reach first place. Mr Wilders lost, but his party came second and gained five more seats in parliament (a third more than in the last election). But to assume that xenophobes and would-be autocrats across Europe have been thoroughly routed by the Dutch vote would be a hazardous interpretation.

Source: The Guardian March 16, 2017 19:18 UTC