Kathleen ElliottMarch 07, 2017Comment

As Dutch elections near, posters proliferate

Kathleen ElliottMarch 07, 2017Comment

As March 15 parliamentary elections approach in the Netherlands, banners and posters supporting the candidates have popped up everywhere in Dutch cities and villages — on roadsides and street medians, in fields and parks, and at farms and homes.

The entrance of a small campsite that once used to be a farm in the Dutch province of Gelderland features an election banner supporting SGP, the Reformed Political Party. It reads "It is the time for the farmers, vote for Dijkgraaf." But Wim van Nijhuis, the 60-year-old owner of the former farm, will not vote for the SGP — he believes its values are too extreme and says his vote will go to the more moderate Christian Democratic Appeal. He put the banner up because a friend asked him to place it by the entrance facing the main road.

In this Saturday, March 4, 2017 photo, an election banner supporting the Reformed Political Party, SGP, and reads "It is the time for the farmers, vote for Dijkgraaf", is displayed by the entrance of a campsite that used to be farm in Ermelo, Nether… — In this Saturday, March 4, 2017 photo, an election banner supporting the Reformed Political Party, SGP, and reads "It is the time for the farmers, vote for Dijkgraaf", is displayed by the entrance of a campsite that used to be farm in Ermelo, Netherlands. March 15 marks the general election in the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

"The difficulty in this election is that you see a huge separation between all the parties," van Nijhuis said. "Most of the Dutch people are not as radical as it appears now in the news, we hope we will get a government with reasonable politicians."

Pollsters are predicting that Prime Minister Mark Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy will lose about 15 of its 40 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. Far-right, anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom, which currently has 12 lawmakers in the chamber, is on track to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest, parliamentary factions.

However, Wilders' hard-line anti-Islam, anti-immigration platform has driven away potential coalition partners among mainstream parties, meaning that he is unlikely to be able to form a government even if he wins the popular vote.