Starry Sky

Jesse “the Jessiah” Klaver celebrates Netherlands poll wins with pro-refugee message before possible coalition deal. [Read more].

• Jon Henley and Gordon Darroch, Populism can be stopped, says jubilant Dutch GreenLeft leader, The Guardian, March 16, 2017

Jesse Klaver with supporters in Amsterdam on Wednesday. His GreenLeft (GroenLinks) is now the biggest party of the left in the Netherlands. Photo: Francois Lenoir/Reuters.

Fate’s Left Hand

Party forecast to boost its MPs from four to 14 after storming campaign by young leader Jesse Klaver The big winner of Wednesday’s election – and now the largest party of the Dutch left for the first time – was GreenLeft, headed by 30-year-old Jesse Klaver, hailed by his enthusiastic supporters as the “Jessiah”. [Read more].

• Jon Henley, Dutch elections: big winner proves to be GreenLeft, The Guardian, March 16, 2017

GreenLeft (GroenLinks) leader Jesse Klaver meets members of the public in Amsterdam on Wednesday as voters went to the polls. Photo: Bas Czerwinski/EPA.

The Longest Yard

• Jon Henley, PM Mark Rutte set to beat Geert Wilders in Dutch election, The Guardian, March 15, 2017

Prime Minister Mark Rutte (pictured above) and his liberal VVD party appear to have clearly rejected the assault of the rightwing, populist, anti-Eu, anti-immigration, anti-Islam PVV, an early exit poll suggests. The leftwing environmentalists of GreenLeft (GroenLinks) might be the big winners of the night, quadrupling their number of MPs to 16, the poll suggested. Photo: LaPresse.