Netherlands: Labour ahead in polls with anti-austerity agenda

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After almost two years of liberal-conservative government backed by the far right, the Netherlands looks set to shift leftwards in Wednesday’s national election.

In the final days of campaigning, the Labour Party (PvdA) has surged in the polls after its new leader Diederik Samsom delivered some powerful performances in TV debates.

Samsom, 41, has an unusual background. He’s been a nuclear physicist, Greenpeace campaigner and an alternative energy entrepreneur.

His relaxed, consensual style has struck a chord with voters, along with promises to temper any drive to control the oversized budget deficit with initiatives to revive the stagnant Dutch economy.

“They have been campaigning very much more on investing in jobs and the economy, with less emphasis on cutting spending in the public sector. That will be a major difference," explains Catelene Passchier, member of the executive board of the FNV, the Netherlands’ largest trade union confederation.

Latest polls show Labour challenging the pro-market People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (PVV) of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the top spot in parliament. Further to the left, the Socialist Party has moved from the fringes of Dutch politics and may clinch third place.

With up to 12 parties expected to win seats in parliament, none will come close to an absolute majority so weeks of negotiations are expected before a coalition government is formed.

The new administration will have to tackle pressing economic problems. Although it’s a long way from the trauma of southern Europe, the Netherlands is set to slip into recession this year. House prices have nose-dived and unemployment has crept over 6 per cent - close to levels last seen the mid-1990s.

The PVV and other centre-right parties have committed to billions of euros of spending cuts designed to quickly bring down the budget deficit from the current 4.4 per cent of gross domestic product down to the 3 per cent target set by the European Union.

Labour is seeking a more gradual approach. It warns the right’s drastic austerity proposals will stifle hopes of recovery, bring more job losses and cause unnecessary pain in public services.

"I would introduce measures to ensure the cost account of this crisis is distributed more fairly," Samsom told the Volkskrant newspaper on Saturday.

"There are other things needed that take time to bear fruit: investment in education, sustainable technology, reform of the housing market. "

The more radical Socialist Party wants to tackle the budget gap with more taxes, defence cuts and holding back contributions to the EU.

Finding a consensus that will enable parties agree on the formation of a working government will be difficult and even the trade unions have been divided over the pace and direction of economic reform.

Most analysts are predicting however that the electoral mathematics will oblige Labour and Rutte’s liberal PVV to get together in a coalition with smaller centrist parties.

"For us it’s very important that there will be some sort of centre coalition," Passchier told Equal Times.

"We would prefer a centre coalition with a strong position of the left, but in any case we do see that all the serious parties except for the far right want the social partners to play an important role in solving the problems of the country."