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The Netherlands seems to be moving towards a government led by the far right. At least, that's according to the main exit poll after the elections held on Wednesday in which 13.3 million people were able to exercise their right to vote.

Geert Wilders, the candidate of the Party for Freedom (PVV), who proposes, among other pearls, holding a referendum to decide whether the Netherlands will remain in the European Union or close the mosques, leads the poll carried out by Ipsos with 35 seats, far behind his immediate pursuers: the Social Democrat Frans Timmermans (26 deputies) and the leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. Dilan Yesilgöz, a centre-right liberal and running mate of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

With those results, Wilders could be the next prime minister of the Netherlands in coalition with Yesilgöz and the New Social Contract candidate, Pieter Omtzigt, a Christian Democrat. These four parties would add up to 78 seats and the absolute majority in The Hague is at 76.

The polls are not definitive, but on previous occasions they have come close in the Netherlands to the final result. As political scientist Julia Wouters told AFP yesterday, "anyone who says they know who is going to win the elections is lying; Anything can happen."

What is clear is that when the final count is known this Thursday - the electoral lists are open and the counting of the large ballots takes time - a long negotiation will begin that in the Netherlands has sometimes lasted months.

In this country there has not been a government with an absolute majority in the recent past. In fact, it is normal for government coalitions to be closed between four or five different formations, as happened in 2021. Rutte's last coalition government took 271 days to agree.

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