Rob Jetten Triumphs in Historic Dutch Election

Sat Nov 01 2025 22:08:04 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a thrilling election setback for populism, centrist leader Rob Jetten emerges victorious over Geert Wilders in a nail-biting race, potentially making history as the youngest prime minister in the Netherlands.

Rob Jetten, the leader of the D66 party, has claimed victory in the closely contested Dutch elections, narrowly beating populist Geert Wilders. With a lead of just 15,000 votes, Jetten expressed pride in his party's ability to overcome challenges and aims to form a stable government. The election marks a significant shift in Dutch politics and sets the stage for Jetten possibly becoming the youngest prime minister in the country's history.

Centrist liberal leader Rob Jetten has claimed victory in Wednesday's nail-biting Dutch election, after vote analysis indicated his party could not be beaten by anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders.

Jetten's D66 party currently has a narrow lead of 15,000 votes over Wilders' Freedom Party, and Dutch news agency ANP says even though the vote count is not complete, Wilders can no longer win.

We are the biggest party in the Netherlands! Now we'll get to work for all Dutch people, Jetten posted on X.

Wilders commented that it was the electoral council, not a news agency, that should decide the result: What arrogance not to wait for that.

Projections from about 99% of the vote put both parties on 26 seats in the 150-seat parliament - but ANP says Jetten's centrists could win a 27th seat.

Jetten, 38, told reporters he was very proud of this historic result and now felt a great responsibility to form a stable and ambitious government.

Wilders had led opinion polls going into Wednesday's election, but Rob Jetten succeeded in winning in some of the main Dutch cities including Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht with his positive campaign and the slogan Yes, we can.

This election has proven to be the closest in Dutch history, and if Jetten does become prime minister, he will be the youngest in the country's modern historical context.

Until now, Jetten was cautious not to declare victory until all votes were in, but based on figures from postal voters abroad, ANP declared him the winner.

Wilders insisted that even if D66 became the largest party, his Freedom Party would not allow Jetten and his people to break the Netherlands apart.

Jetten mentioned that he and his party had demonstrated that it is possible to defeat populist movements with a positive message.

The Dutch electoral system favors proportional representation, meaning that whichever party secures the most votes wins the most seats. Jetten's liberals secured approximately 16.9% of the votes, while Wilders' Freedom Party garnered about 16.7%.

Despite the surprise turn of events, Jetten acknowledged that forming a coalition government could take a significant amount of time, requiring support from at least three other parties to gain the necessary 76 seats.

In a significant political backdrop, Jetten's rise from a party struggling in opinion polls to victory showcases the fluctuation of voter sentiment in the Netherlands.