Dutch anti-Islamist leader Geert Wilders scored major gains in local authority polls Thursday, making him a serious challenger for power in a June national election, preliminary results showed. In the first test of public opinion since the collapse of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's coalition government last month, Wilders's Freedom Party (PVV) led in the city of Almere and was second in The Hague. The results came on top of an opinion poll showing that the PVV, which campaigns against Muslim immigration as its main platform, would win the most seats -- 27 in the 150-member Dutch parliament -- in the June 9 election.
That would make it tough for Balkenende's Christian Democrats, projected to win one seat less, to forge a strong coalition without Wilders. Months of talks between parties, and the resulting policy vacuum, could threaten a fragile economic recovery and cast doubt on the scope of planned budget cuts.
"The leftist elite still believes in multi-culturalism, coddling criminals, a European super-state and high taxes," Wilders told cheering supporters at a rally in Almere after polling ended Wednesday. "But the rest of the Netherlands thinks differently. That silent majority now has a voice," he said.
Andre Krouwel, professor of political science at Vrije University in Amsterdam, said: "You can see there's a lot of discontent in the electorate. Clearly Wilders is going to use these results as a stepping stone for national elections."
Balkenende, now heading a caretaker government, saw his coalition collapse on February 20 after his center-right Christian Democrats failed to persuade their Labor Party partners to extend the Netherlands' military mission in Afghanistan. The collapse was the fourth for a cabinet led by Balkenende in eight years.