2012 Dutch general election

Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government fell after the Party for Freedom (PVV), which had supported the government from outside, refused to sanction the austerity measures the government sought in April 2012. This called for a new early election to be held in September 2012. It is the fourth early election in a row since the Second Kok cabinet fell very near the end of its mandate, which allowed that government to keep the election date to be held as scheduled by the term in May 2002. Early elections were subsequently held in January 2003, November 2006, June 2010 and September 2012. And during that time a total of five governments ended prematurely, as it was possible for the Third Balkenende cabinet (July–November 2006) to be formed without a new election. ==Participating parties==

In addition to the established parties of Dutch politics, the pensioners' party 50PLUS, founded in 2009, won its first seats in the election. The Pirate Party claimed that it may enter parliament for the first time with 2 or 3 seats. However, the party achieved only 0.3% of the national vote and no seats. Hero Brinkman, elected on the Party for Freedom's list, split from the party in March 2012 and founded the Independent Citizens' Party in April 2012 to run in the election on his own. In June 2012, the party merged with Proud of the Netherlands (a party founded by Rita Verdonk, who had resigned from the position of party leader) to form the Democratic Political Turning Point, with Brinkman as leader. The party achieved 0.1% of the national vote and no seats. ==Polls==

ImageSize = width:950 height:350 PlotArea = left:40 right:70 top:20 bottom:30 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = justify Colors = id:gray1 value:gray(0.9) id:gray2 value:gray(0.8) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:13 till:38 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:13 PlotData = bar:50 color:gray1 width:1 from:start till:end bar:40 color:gray1 from:start till:end bar:30 color:gray1 from:start till:end bar:20 color:gray1 from:start till:end bar:10 color:gray1 from:start till:end bar:0 color:gray1 TextData = pos:(420,0) textcolor:black fontsize:S text: Week number (2012) pos:(0,190) textcolor:black fontsize:S text: Seats pos:(172,325) textcolor:black fontsize:S text:"Collapse of Rutte I" pos:(735,325) textcolor:black fontsize:S text:"Party leaders' debate" pos:(850,325) textcolor:black fontsize:S text:"Polling day" pos:(143,48) text:April pos:(286,48) text:May pos:(415,48) text:June pos:(547,48) text:July pos:(680,48) text:August pos:(833,48) text:September Colors = id:vvd value:oceanblue legend:VVD id:pvda value:red legend:PvdA id:pvv value:darkblue legend:PVV id:cda value:rgb(0,1,0) legend:CDA id:sp value:rgb(0.8,0,0.165) legend:SP id:d66 value:green legend:D66 id:gl value:yellowgreen legend:GL id:cu value:orange legend:CU id:sgp value:yellow legend:SGP id:pvdd value:pink legend:PvdD id:50+ value:blue legend:50+ id:obp value:purple legend:DPK Legend = left:900 top:250 LineData = points: (170,30)(170,330) color:gray2 layer:back width:0.5 # verticale lijn tussen wk 7 en 8, val kabinet points: (735,30)(735,330) color:gray1 layer:back width:0.5 # verticale lijn Premiersdebat (eerste debat met hoofdrolspelers) points: (850,30)(850,330) color:gray2 layer:back width:0.5 # verticale lijn verkiezingsdag points: (70,30)(70,40) color:black layer:back width:0.5 # april points: (220,30)(220,40) color:black layer:back width:0.5 # mei points: (370,30)(370,40) color:black layer:back width:0.5 # juni points: (520,30)(520,40) color:black layer:back width:0.5 # juli points: (670,30)(670,40) color:black layer:back width:0.5 # augustus points: (820,30)(820,40) color:black layer:back width:0.5 # september layer:front # VVD points: (41,225)(95,240) color:vvd width:2 points: (95,240)(160,250) color:vvd width:2 points: (160,250)(190,230) color:vvd width:2 points: (190,230)(220,240) color:vvd width:2 points: (220,240)(250,227) color:vvd width:2 points: (250,227)(280,213) color:vvd width:2 points: (280,213)(310,209) color:vvd width:2 points: (310,209)(340,217) color:vvd width:2 points: (340,217)(400,234) color:vvd width:2 points: (400,234)(475,217) color:vvd width:2 points: (475,217)(500,238) color:vvd width:2 points: (500,238)(530,244) color:vvd width:2 points: (530,244)(600,238) color:vvd width:2 points: (600,238)(670,217) color:vvd width:2 points: (670,217)(700,238) color:vvd width:2 points: (700,238)(730,234) color:vvd width:2 points: (730,234)(760,234) color:vvd width:2 points: (760,234)(780,238) color:vvd width:2 points: (780,238)(800,234) color:vvd width:2 points: (800,234)(820,238) color:vvd width:2 layer:front # PvdA points: (41,185)(95,185) color:pvda width:2 points: (95,185)(160,190) color:pvda width:2 points: (160,190)(190,180) color:pvda width:2 points: (190,180)(220,170) color:pvda width:2 points: (220,170)(250,165) color:pvda width:2 points: (250,165)(280,175) color:pvda width:2 points: (280,175)(310,180) color:pvda width:2 points: (310,180)(340,176) color:pvda width:2 points: (340,176)(400,173) color:pvda width:2 points: (400,173)(475,167) color:pvda width:2 points: (475,167)(500,176) color:pvda width:2 points: (500,176)(530,167) color:pvda width:2 points: (530,167)(600,167) color:pvda width:2 points: (600,167)(670,165) color:pvda width:2 points: (670,165)(700,167) color:pvda width:2 points: (700,167)(730,162) color:pvda width:2 points: (730,162)(760,180) color:pvda width:2 points: (760,180)(780,207) color:pvda width:2 points: (780,207)(800,223) color:pvda width:2 points: (800,223)(820,238) color:pvda width:2 layer:front # PVV points: (41,155)(95,150) color:pvv width:2 points: (95,150)(160,140) color:pvv width:2 points: (160,140)(190,140) color:pvv width:2 points: (190,140)(220,135) color:pvv width:2 points: (220,135)(250,145) color:pvv width:2 points: (250,145)(280,155) color:pvv width:2 points: (280,155)(310,150) color:pvv width:2 points: (310,150)(340,158) color:pvv width:2 points: (340,158)(400,168) color:pvv width:2 points: (400,168)(475,150) color:pvv width:2 points: (475,150)(500,140) color:pvv width:2 points: (500,140)(530,145) color:pvv width:2 points: (530,145)(600,140) color:pvv width:2 points: (600,140)(670,145) color:pvv width:2 points: (670,145)(700,140) color:pvv width:2 points: (700,140)(730,145) color:pvv width:2 points: (730,145)(760,150) color:pvv width:2 points: (760,150)(780,140) color:pvv width:2 points: (780,140)(800,150) color:pvv width:2 points: (800,150)(820,145) color:pvv width:2 layer:front # CDA points: (41,115)(95,110) color:cda width:2 points: (95,110)(160,105) color:cda width:2 points: (160,105)(190,110) color:cda width:2 points: (190,110)(220,115) color:cda width:2 points: (220,115)(250,125) color:cda width:2 points: (250,125)(280,125) color:cda width:2 points: (280,125)(310,125) color:cda width:2 points: (310,125)(340,117) color:cda width:2 points: (340,117)(400,105) color:cda width:2 points: (400,105)(475,117) color:cda width:2 points: (475,117)(500,117) color:cda width:2 points: (500,117)(530,125) color:cda width:2 points: (530,125)(600,120) color:cda width:2 points: (600,120)(670,120) color:cda width:2 points: (670,120)(700,117) color:cda width:2 points: (700,117)(730,117) color:cda width:2 points: (730,117)(760,114) color:cda width:2 points: (760,114)(780,117) color:cda width:2 points: (780,117)(800,110) color:cda width:2 points: (800,110)(820,114) color:cda width:2 layer:front # D66 points: (41,100)(95,110) color:d66 width:2 points: (95,110)(160,110) color:d66 width:2 points: (160,110)(190,125) color:d66 width:2 points: (190,125)(220,120) color:d66 width:2 points: (220,120)(250,120) color:d66 width:2 points: (250,120)(280,120) color:d66 width:2 points: (280,120)(310,125) color:d66 width:2 points: (310,125)(340,121) color:d66 width:2 points: (340,121)(400,121) color:d66 width:2 points: (400,121)(475,117) color:d66 width:2 points: (475,117)(500,112) color:d66 width:2 points: (500,112)(530,112) color:d66 width:2 points: (530,112)(600,117) color:d66 width:2 points: (600,117)(670,120) color:d66 width:2 points: (670,120)(700,117) color:d66 width:2 points: (700,117)(730,117) color:d66 width:2 points: (730,117)(760,117) color:d66 width:2 points: (760,117)(780,117) color:d66 width:2 points: (780,117)(800,114) color:d66 width:2 points: (800,114)(820,108) color:d66 width:2 layer:front # SP points: (41,185)(95,180) color:sp width:2 points: (95,180)(160,185) color:sp width:2 points: (160,185)(190,185) color:sp width:2 points: (190,185)(220,195) color:sp width:2 points: (220,195)(250,195) color:sp width:2 points: (250,195)(280,190) color:sp width:2 points: (280,190)(310,190) color:sp width:2 points: (310,190)(340,190) color:sp width:2 points: (340,190)(400,185) color:sp width:2 points: (400,185)(475,195) color:sp width:2 points: (475,195)(500,200) color:sp width:2 points: (500,200)(530,185) color:sp width:2 points: (530,185)(600,200) color:sp width:2 points: (600,200)(670,210) color:sp width:2 points: (670,210)(700,203) color:sp width:2 points: (700,203)(730,207) color:sp width:2 points: (730,207)(760,190) color:sp width:2 points: (760,190)(780,170) color:sp width:2 points: (780,170)(800,160) color:sp width:2 points: (800,160)(820,155) color:sp width:2 layer:front # GL points: (41,75)(95,65) color:gl width:2 points: (95,65)(160,60) color:gl width:2 points: (160,60)(190,60) color:gl width:2 points: (190,60)(220,65) color:gl width:2 points: (220,65)(250,60) color:gl width:2 points: (250,60)(280,60) color:gl width:2 points: (280,60)(310,60) color:gl width:2 points: (310,60)(340,58) color:gl width:2 points: (340,58)(400,58) color:gl width:2 points: (400,58)(475,58) color:gl width:2 points: (475,58)(500,52) color:gl width:2 points: (500,52)(530,58) color:gl width:2 points: (530,58)(600,52) color:gl width:2 points: (600,52)(670,52) color:gl width:2 points: (670,52)(700,52) color:gl width:2 points: (700,52)(730,58) color:gl width:2 points: (730,58)(760,52) color:gl width:2 points: (760,52)(780,45) color:gl width:2 layer:front # CU points: (41,60)(95,60) color:cu width:2 points: (95,60)(160,60) color:cu width:2 points: (160,60)(190,65) color:cu width:2 points: (190,65)(220,60) color:cu width:2 points: (220,60)(250,60) color:cu width:2 points: (250,60)(280,60) color:cu width:2 points: (280,60)(310,60) color:cu width:2 points: (310,60)(340,60) color:cu width:2 points: (340,60)(400,62) color:cu width:2 points: (400,62)(475,65) color:cu width:2 points: (475,65)(500,63) color:cu width:2 points: (500,63)(530,60) color:cu width:2 points: (530,60)(600,63) color:cu width:2 points: (600,63)(670,63) color:cu width:2 points: (670,63)(700,60) color:cu width:2 points: (700,60)(730,63) color:cu width:2 points: (730,63)(760,60) color:cu width:2 points: (760,60)(780,52) color:cu width:2 points: (780,52)(800,63) color:cu width:2 points: (800,63)(820,63) color:cu width:2 layer:front # SGP points: (41,40)(95,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (95,40)(160,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (160,40)(190,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (190,40)(220,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (220,40)(250,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (250,40)(280,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (280,40)(310,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (310,40)(340,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (340,40)(400,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (400,40)(475,45) color:sgp width:2 points: (475,45)(500,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (500,40)(530,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (530,40)(600,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (600,40)(670,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (670,40)(700,45) color:sgp width:2 points: (700,45)(730,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (730,40)(760,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (760,40)(780,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (780,40)(800,40) color:sgp width:2 points: (800,40)(820,40) color:sgp width:2 layer:front # PvdD points: (41,42)(95,42) color:pvdd width:2 points: (95,42)(160,50) color:pvdd width:2 points: (160,50)(190,42) color:pvdd width:2 points: (190,42)(220,50) color:pvdd width:2 points: (220,50)(250,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (250,45)(280,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (280,45)(310,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (310,45)(340,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (340,45)(400,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (400,45)(475,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (475,45)(500,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (500,45)(530,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (530,45)(600,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (600,45)(670,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (670,45)(700,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (700,45)(730,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (730,45)(760,52) color:pvdd width:2 points: (760,52)(780,52) color:pvdd width:2 points: (780,52)(800,45) color:pvdd width:2 points: (800,45)(820,45) color:pvdd width:2 layer:front # 50+ points: (41,35)(95,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (95,35)(160,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (160,35)(190,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (190,35)(220,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (220,35)(250,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (250,35)(280,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (280,35)(310,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (310,35)(340,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (340,35)(400,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (400,35)(475,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (475,35)(500,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (500,35)(530,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (530,35)(600,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (600,35)(670,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (670,35)(700,39) color:50+ width:2 points: (700,39)(730,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (730,35)(760,35) color:50+ width:2 points: (760,35)(780,39) color:50+ width:2 points: (780,39)(800,39) color:50+ width:2 points: (800,39)(820,35) color:50+ width:2 layer:front # DPK points: (41,28)(95,28) color:obp width:2 points: (95,28)(160,28) color:obp width:2 points: (160,28)(190,33) color:obp width:2 points: (190,33)(220,28) color:obp width:2 points: (220,28)(250,28) color:obp width:2 points: (250,28)(280,28) color:obp width:2 points: (280,28)(310,28) color:obp width:2 points: (310,28)(340,28) color:obp width:2 points: (340,28)(400,28) color:obp width:2 points: (400,28)(475,28) color:obp width:2 points: (475,28)(500,28) color:obp width:2 points: (500,28)(530,28) color:obp width:2 points: (530,28)(600,28) color:obp width:2 points: (600,28)(670,28) color:obp width:2 points: (670,28)(700,28) color:obp width:2 points: (700,28)(730,28) color:obp width:2 points: (730,28)(760,28) color:obp width:2 points: (760,28)(780,28) color:obp width:2 points: (780,28)(800,28) color:obp width:2 points: (800,28)(820,28) color:obp width:2 Natixis evaluated on 6 September the most recent opinion polls, and found the likelihood was strongest for the formation of a "purple government" of the pro-EU parties: VVD, CDA, D66, PvdA and, possible GL. It also pointed to other potential governing coalition that would include a pro-austerity government with VVD, CDA, D66, GL and CU; or a centre-left government of CDA, D66, GL and PvdA with a minority of seats, but with outside parliamentary support of the SP. The two largest eurosceptic parties, PVV and SP, are reportedly not interested in building a coalition. A similar scenario to the previous election could re-occur, considering no pre-election alliance will receive votes enough for majority, and thus needs to form a new more broad coalition government, comprising at least three parties. ==Pre-election agreements==

On 27 April, the two governing coalition parties, VVD and CDA negotiated a deal to reduce the national deficit in 2013 to an acceptable level below 3% of GDP. This deal was also supported by the three opposition parties: D66, GL and the CU. ==Campaign==

The VVD's Mark Rutte is said to be aligned with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in promoting austerity measures, while his closest rival the PvdA's Diederik Samsom's was said to reflect French President Francois Hollande's stimulus measures from its own election this year. A final television debate took place on 11 September, with the economy reportedly the most important issue amongst voters. The day before the debate, Rutte said that he would stop delegating ever increasing powers to the European Union saying: "I am 'Mr No' when it comes to a Brussels that's expanding more and more." Conversely, Samsom said that he was in coordination with Hollande over dealing with the economic crisis. Support for him and the PvdA grew after he was perceived as having the better performance in the debates. He also rejected taking cabinet posts in a coalition government saying: "I will either be prime minister, or I will lead my party in parliament." The vote was also seen as a test of the EU's popularity within the country. Political analyst Anno Bunnik said that many voters were not keen on repeated early elections. He also pointed to PVV's Geert Wilders' declining popularity after he was viewed as a political opportunist not looking out for the national interest in effectively forcing a snap election. In citing Wilders' labeling as a "sorcerer's apprentice," he also pointed to a possible first-ever loss of seats for the PVV under Wilder's helm. He attributed this to Wilders' inefficiency in the debates of responding to the other party leaders instead of setting the agenda, instead in one debate he got into an argument with Rutte with both leaders calling each other liars in an unprecedented move. Though opinion polls indicated a close race to gain a majority, the international media indicated a left-leaning government was likely to emerge as a result of the election. However, the French election was cited and countered as a turn in orientation for the government would still not lead to a change in austerity policies. ==Results==

, Gelderland There was a turn-out of 74.6%, about one percent less than the previous election two years before. The NOS reported the following results after 100% of the votes were counted: • The VVD won the most votes (26.6%), accruing 41 seats (an increase of 10). • The PvdA was second (24.8%), accruing 38 seats (an increase of 8). • The PVV was third (10.1%), with 15 seats (a loss of nine, down from 24 seats), and obtained the same number of seats as the SP (15). • The GL lost six of its ten seats and just under two-thirds of their voters. The Kiesraad announced the final results on 17 September. By province ==See also==