Geert Wilders brought his own administration to an end last June by pushing for migration rules that the law would not allow. Last year’s snap elections gave a very precise answer when Rob Jetten led Democrats 66 (D66) to the best election result the party has ever seen.
He finished ahead of the Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV) with a 16.9% vote share against 16.7% as both parties won 26 seats in a tie that pointed toward a desire for functional stability.
Rob Jetten started his new job on Monday as the first queer person to lead the nation. At 38, he broke the age record of Ruud Lubbers from 1982 and said after the victory that a hopeful vision for the country has more power than divisive movements.
The campaign that brought D66 into power was about the tangible mechanics of life like housing, education, energy, and a new sense of purpose in Europe.
The Breakup that Opened a Path
The group led by the PVV lasted only eleven months before its implosion. Geert Wilders wanted to close the borders and send away people with two nationalities if they had a criminal record, but experts judged the proposals to be legally and practically hollow.
As his partners would not go along with the plans, Wilders left and ended the government himself. Following the move, the PVV lost eleven seats in the October election and dropped to 26.
An administration that ended because of migration had little to demonstrate for its work on the topic and Dutch voters treated the lack of progress as proof of a stumble. The political cost of prioritising political spectacle proved to be steep.
D66’s Path to First Place
D66 started the 2025 race still feeling the sting of a hard loss in 2023 after the party lost 24 seats. Jetten changed his way of working by adding a focus on the lack of homes and more funding for schools alongside his work on the environment.
He won over people who wanted a leader who understood their daily lives. The campaign slogan Het kan wel, which means “it is possible,” captured a sense of optimism that people could reach.
Jetten matured into a person who speaks comfortably on social media with a friendly style after moving past his earlier reputation for being stiff. In September 2025, Jetten stood in broken glass outside the D66 offices in The Hague next to a burned-out dumpster after a far-right march recently swept through the city.
He asked a question about how harsh political language changes the national mood and the Dutch electorate rewarded a leader focused on the stabilising side of governing.
Agenda Built on Tangible Commitments
Jetten arrives in office with priorities about how people live every day. His administration promised to build ten new towns and cut through bureaucracy to finish 100,000 new homes every year. The effort tries to fix a shortage of about 400,000 homes that has pressed Dutch families for a decade.
On immigration, Jetten promised an asylum system of balanced efficiency. The plan includes handling claims from outside the European Union and making sure all refugees learn the Dutch language from their first day in the country.
A new Freedom Contribution fee will pay for a €19 billion expansion of the Dutch armed forces and keep up military aid to Ukraine. The coalition agreement also pledges to reach the NATO defence goal while protecting the money for schools and raising the age to buy tobacco to 21.
Minority Arithmetic and the Outstretched Hand
The Jetten cabinet consists of D66, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). Together they hold 66 of 150 parliamentary seats which means they have to find ways to build working arrangements with the opposition.
The coalition took 117 days to form, which was a considerable improvement over the long waits seen under the previous government.
Jetten pledged to govern with an outstretched hand to make it plain that he wants to work with other groups like the Green-Left and Labour alliance.
Political scientist Henk van der Kolk sees the result as a turning point where D66 gained lasting authority as the popular support for the PVV shrank.
Jetten captured the mood of the swearing-in ceremony by writing on X that he was proud to be doing the job together in a new phase of duty for everyone in the Netherlands.
European Parties Now Have a Live Model
Geert Wilders got a lot of attention by linking Dutch worries about homes and pay to migration. Jetten made the case that the worries were the material result of policy choices made over ten years.
D66 talked about the economy by promising more houses and more money for schools because history usually rewards leaders who can show what they have done. Jetten placed the Netherlands as a self-reliant European partner.
He stayed with a pro-European stance after seeing that Europe could not count on Washington following the second inauguration of Donald Trump. His partner, Argentine field hockey Olympian Nicolás Keenan, captured what the public expects by saying the Dutch people are ready for his new and positive energy.
European parties watching the results in the Netherlands now have a live model for victory. It appears that centre-ground coalitions can win elections by focusing on specifics.
Keep up with Daily Euro Times for more updates!Â
Read also:
Wilders Out: The Rise of Practical Politics
A Poison Chalice: Migration Politics in the Netherlands
Bosma: Dutch Colonialism in Full Force on Belgium Partition
