Rob Jetten, the liberal-progressive leader of Democrats 66 (D66), appears almost certain to become the next Dutch prime minister after his party matched the far-right PVV in the general election. The former junior athlete and pragmatist, who would be the Netherlands' first openly gay premier, celebrated a result that ended the far right's stranglehold on Dutch politics.
Speaking to ecstatic supporters in Leiden, Jetten declared: "We have turned the page on [Geert] Wilders." He added that mainstream parties had proved it was "possible to beat the populist movement and to beat the extreme right". The PVV, led by Wilders, saw its seats fall from 37 to 26, the same number as D66, after its 11-month coalition government collapsed over controversial anti-immigration plans.
D66 was founded in 1966 by activists in an Amsterdam hotel to address the "serious devaluation of our democracy". Jetten, who previously worked as a manager at the ProRail national track network, has been described as "the real deal" by party insiders. He met his partner, Argentine hockey player Nicolás Keenan, in a supermarket.
Jetten's campaign adopted an Obama-esque "yes we can" message, aiming to counter populist emotion with common sense. An appearance on a TV gameshow introduced him to millions, and his polished debate performances against Wilders drew praise. Eindhoven's deputy mayor Robert Strijk said: "Rob has an incredibly positive story... He came with hope."
With all other main parties ruling out working with Wilders, Jetten is set to lead a coalition. He acknowledged the scale of the task, saying: "We might be the biggest in these results, but we know that millions of Dutch people today chose other parties." He emphasised the need to unite a country divided over housing and space, pledging to lead from the political middle.
