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Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV, far right) has made a breakthrough: chances are it will jump from 0 to 4 seats (out of the 25 seats assigned to The Netherlands). Though the PVV still lags behind the Christian Democrats (5 seats), it is the only party to boast such a spectacular surge. For [De Volkskrant](http:// http://extra.volkskrant.nl/opinie/artikel/show/id/3500/Europa_laat_kiezer_koud), “the populist PVV is the party that has benefited most from the wave of Euro-criticism […]. This is a distressing development because The Netherlands cannot do without Europe.” The newspaper blames the country’s political leaders, who “have failed to convince voters of the utility of the European Parliament”. Trouw, on the other hand, takes the total number of seats into account and finds that “the most pro-European parties, the Democrats 66 and The Greens, have also made a great deal of headway” (advancing from 1 to 3 and 2 to 3 seats, respectively]. If this year’s voter turnout is roughly on a par with the 2004 showing, it will be “considerably higher than in the 1990s”: in fact, concludes Trouw, “Europe is more present […] in the hearts and minds of the Dutch”.
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