Populist firebrand Geert Wilders and his PVV party failed to live up to the hype following them into the Netherlands elections Wednesday, winning only 19 seats in the country's parliament — far short of the 30 they were predicted to win at the start of the year.The results will keep the right-wing extremist Wilders firmly outside of any ruling coalition government. Instead, by sheer virtue of a highly splintered Dutch electorate, and despite losing 10 seats, incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his center-right VVD party remain best positioned to head up the country's next coalition government.In a highly fractured and divisive race dominated by the issues of immigration and integration, voter turnout was much more robust than previous elections, with exit polling showing turnout sky-rocket to a 31-year high of 82 percent, up 17 percentage points from 2012.In fact, the looming figure cut by Wilders transformed the country's typically low-profile election into an international spectacle. Thanks to Brexit and President Donald Trump's surprise November win, the crowded Dutch election was billed by international media as a "bellwether vote" for populism and the future of Europe.The results no doubt will be seen not only as a personal blow for Wilders, but a sharp rebuke of the surging populism growing across Europe in recent years.Finish reading this story on VICE News.
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