Dutch election

The Netherlands went to the polls last night in general elections, and in common with European elections of late seem to have produced no clear winner. The ruling Christian Democrats are the largest party, but ther eis no obvious coalition which can be formed on the right. Similarly, no obvious coalition can be formed on the left either. So the result is likely to be similar to that seen in Germany - a centrist coalition between Christian Democrats and Labour, possibly with the Socialists (who have had a runaway success this election) thrown in for good measure. And hopefully this will end the racism and immigrant-bashing seen in the Netherlands of late.

As usual, there is excellent commentary (including a pair of handy guides to the Dutch political landscape) on European Tribune.

And as an interesting point: the Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals) won two seats, becoming the first party ever elected on an animla rights platform. It will be interesting to see how they spend their four years.