One week ahead of the Netherlands’ parliamentary elections, far-right leader Geert Wilders continues to dominate the race, a new poll showed Wednesday.
A representative survey by the Verian Institute for the TV program EenVandaag projects that Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) would win 34 of the 150 seats in parliament, making it by far the strongest party, as it was in the last election about two years ago.
The ruling four-party coalition collapsed after just 11 months when Wilders withdrew his ministers over a dispute on tightening asylum laws.
While his former coalition partners are projected to suffer heavy losses, voter support for Wilders has remained strong.
However, it remains unlikely that the anti-Islam PVV will return to government, as all mainstream parties continue to rule out cooperating with Wilders. The outgoing caretaker government has been led by non-partisan former civil servant Dick Schoof.
The poll places the GreenLeft-Labour alliance on 25 seats and the Christian Democrats on 23, both trailing far behind the PVV. The conservative-liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the senior governing party, is expected to face major losses.
Pollsters note that many voters remain undecided ahead of next Wednesday's vote. Key campaign issues include asylum and migration, as well as the country's severe housing shortage.
The survey interviewed 1,473 Dutch voters between Oct. 17 and 20.
