D66’s Rob Jetten claims election win, aims for broad coalition

 

D66’s Rob Jetten claims election win, aims for broad coalition

October 31, 2025

https://www.dutchnews.nl/2025/10/d66s-rob-jetten-claims-election-win-aims-for-broad-coalition

 

D66 leader Rob Jetten has claimed victory in the Dutch general election after calculations by news agency ANP showed his party can no longer be overtaken by the far-right PVV.

 

“Thank you for your trust,” Jetten said on social media. “We are the biggest party in the Netherlands and now we are going to work on behalf of all the Dutch.”

 

Speaking to reporters in The Hague, Jetten said that he would aim for a broad, centre coalition. “The most important thing is to look at how we can represent the millions of people who did not vote for us on themes such as the housing market, migration, climate and the economy,” he said.

 

The results of the vote are complicated, Jetten said, and he urged all political leaders to think about how best to build a stable coalition.

 

A centre-right coalition involving the far-right JA21 would not be his first choice, Jetten said. VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz, who won 22 seats on Wednesday, has said this is her preferred option.

 

“I would call on VVD leader Yesilgöz to let the results sink in… during campaigns party leaders try to get as many votes as possible in line with their ideals. But now we have another responsibility, and that is to make sure this country can move forward.”

 

Although all the votes have not yet been counted, ANP said that D66 is 15,155 votes ahead of Geert Wilders’s party and cannot now be overtaken.

 

The final tally hinges on the last local authority still to report – PVV-voting Venray in Noord-Limburg, with some 24,000 votes – and the 90,000 votes cast by Dutch expats living abroad, who favour D66.

 

The news, which is not yet official, means Jetten will take the lead in forming a new coalition government. Parliamentary party leaders are due to meet next Tuesday to discuss who should be appointed as verkenner, an elder statesman or woman who will sound out the 15 parties likely to be represented in parliament about the options.

 

Youngest prime minister

The result means the Netherlands will have its first ever D66 prime minister — and its youngest. Jetten became an MP in 2017 and has led the parliamentary party since 2018. In 2023 he took over the national party leadership following the resignation of Sigrid Kaag.

 

He will also be the Netherlands’ first openly gay prime minister and is set to marry his partner, Argentine hockey player Nicolás Keenan, in 2026.

 

Both D66 and the PVV are currently on 26 seats in the 150-seat parliament, but analysts suggest D66 could win one more when the final calculations are made.