Which parties could form next Dutch government?

By Bart H. Meijer

Centrist D66 and the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by Geert Wilders were in a neck-and-neck race for the top spot in the Dutch election on Thursday.

But with only 17% of the vote each, both parties would need to find coalition partners to command a majority in the 150-seat parliament.

Government formation in the Netherlands traditionally takes months and looks likely to be no different this time.

Here is a look at the main options the parties have:

PVV COALITION

If the PVV emerges as the largest party, it will claim the right to have a first go at forging a coalition.

But all mainstream parties from the left to the right have excluded working with Wilders, after he collapsed the short-lived government dominated by his PVV earlier this year.

As these parties hold around two-thirds of the seats in parliament, they have effectively ruled out every viable path to a Wilders-led government.

BROAD COALITION

D66 has said it would first look at the possibility of forming a broad coalition, that would include the pro-business VVD Party, the left-wing Greens-Labour and the conservative Christian Democrats (CDA).

Based on preliminary results, that combination would have a comfortable majority of 86 seats in the 150-seat Lower House.

It could be expected to agree on the need to tackle a housing crisis that was voters' top concern and on the need to increase defence spending.

But building this coalition does not look easy, as the VVD has repeatedly said it could not imagine working with Greens-Labour, which it said was pushing for unnecessary tax hikes and was not serious about limiting migration.

CENTRE-RIGHT

D66 could also look for more right-leaning partners by teaming up with the VVD, CDA and the smaller conservative JA21 party, which was among the election winners as it managed to attract voters from Wilders.

D66 leader Rob Jetten has not ruled this out, but has said it would not be his first choice, as he saw large differences between his own party and the more hardline JA21, which is pushing for a crackdown on migration.

With almost all votes counted these four parties hold only 75 seats in parliament, so they might need to find another partner to reach a majority - which could further complicate negotiations.