Uploaded March 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The 2021 general elections in the Netherlands are being watched closely in the European Union and beyond. In particular, the impact of Covid-19 on the election results is perceived to be of great importance to know in which direction the pandemic will shift European politics. Will the mainstream parties of the current coalition government under Mark Rutte benefit from the strict containment policies or will opposition parties, most notably the far-right PVV of Geert Wilders, grow in force? Will Rutte, in charge since 2010, be able to remain as Prime Minister? Will the focus on Covid shift away public attention from the climate crisis and will this stem the growth of the Greens? Will we see a return of the Social Democrats after their dramatic losses in the past elections? And what about fringe parties that in the defragmented Dutch political scene have grown in importance? Will the Animal Rights’ Party continue its steady growth? Will new right-wing parties successfully challenge the dominance of Wilders’ PVV on the right and will new parties on the left that focus on racism and discrimination benefit from the global Black-Lives-Matter-Movement?
These and other questions will be discussed by IES Director Jeroen Dewulf in his analysis of the results of the March 17, 2021 general elections in the Netherlands.
The 2021 general elections in the Netherlands are being watched closely in the European Union and beyond. In particular, the impact of Covid-19 on the election results is perceived to be of great importance to know in which direction the pandemic will shift European politics. Will the mainstream parties of the current coalition government under Mark Rutte benefit from the strict containment policies or will opposition parties, most notably the far-right PVV of Geert Wilders, grow in force? Will Rutte, in charge since 2010, be able to remain as Prime Minister? Will the focus on Covid shift away public attention from the climate crisis and will this stem the growth of the Greens? Will we see a return of the Social Democrats after their dramatic losses in the past elections? And what about fringe parties that in the defragmented Dutch political scene have grown in importance? Will the Animal Rights’ Party continue its steady growth? Will new right-wing parties successfully challenge the dominance of Wilders’ PVV on the right and will new parties on the left that focus on racism and discrimination benefit from the global Black-Lives-Matter-Movement?
These and other questions will be discussed by IES Director Jeroen Dewulf in his analysis of the results of the March 17, 2021 general elections in the Netherlands.
