‘Exceedingly worrying and extremely risky’ is how the Clingendael Institute for international relations describes Wednesday’s election results in terms of Holland’s position in Europe.

In an interview with NRC Next, researchers Menteltje van Keulen and Jan Rood say they had already been concerned by the ‘ear piercing silence’ on Europe in the election campaign.
The situation is even more alarming now, they say, because all the parties that boosted support in the election – such as the Socialists and ChristenUnie – are uninterested or actually anti-Europe. The researchers warn that Holland cannot allow itself to become isolated in the European Union because of its strong economic dependence on the EU.
Meanwhile the employers’ organisation VNO-NCW is worried about the possibility of a coalition government including the Socialist Party.
‘What the SP stands for clashes with our efforts for more entrepeneurship and economic growth,’ said chairman Bernard Weijntjes in today’s Financieele Dagblad. ‘The party programme of the SP, but also that of Labour, is a threat to the country’s business community.’