Dutch provincial elections: no senatorial majority for government?

[Wanted Man]

What this is about:


Members of the Senate are elected indirectly through the States-Provincial, which in turn are elected by the people of the Netherlands every four years. The States-Provincial work in the same way as the House of Representatives. After elections for the States-Provincial, their new membership elects people to take a seat in the Senate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eerste_Kamer


Definitive prognosis shows no senate majority for coalition

Wednesday 02 March 2011

The minority government and its coalition partner PVV have lost support since the general election and will not control a majority of seats in the upper house of parliament, or senate, according to the definitive exit poll published by Nos television.

The exit poll gives the conservative liberal VVD 16 seats in the senate, up 2 from its present total. However, the CDA is on course to win just 10 seats, down from its current total of 21 and the anti-Islam PVV will debut with nine, below opinion poll forecasts.

The PvdA (Labour) remains unchanged on 14 seats, while D66 and GroenLInks both make gains.

Compared with the June 2010 general election, support for the VVD and CDA is stable, but PVV support has gone down from 15.4% to 11.8%.

More to follow

© DutchNews.nl

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2011/03/definitive_prognosis_shows_no.php

[Sasha]

Mark rutte, not only the first conservative PM but also the shortest lived?

[Wanted Man]

We've still only got exit polls, but they give good hope, even to the biggest abstentionist. I always grudgingly vote SP, but they are not among the winners this time.

I do take delight in the utter elimination of the CDA and the fact that most of Geert Wilders' fan club didn't turn up to vote, or they considered the VVD a safer option.

In the department of frivolous parties: the Animal Party is not doing so well, but the party "50PLUS", the party for the elderly, seems to be guaranteed a couple of senatorial seats. It would be pretty funny if some government proposals are going to depend on the support of this party.