(PVV) haemorrhaged support among voters. With 90 percent of the votes counted early on Thursday, D66 and PVV were both projected to take 26 seats in the 150-seat lower house of parliament. The results marked a sharp fall for PVV leader Geert Wilders, sometimes known as the “Dutch Trump”, from a record showing in 2023 , while D66 made the biggest gains and almost tripled its seats. Exit polls and early results had indicated a narrow victory for the progressive D66 , with Wilders, 62, trailing in second place. But vote counting indicated a slightly stronger showing for Wilders. Whatever the final result, Wilders is virtually certain not to be prime minister, as all mainstream parties have ruled out governing with him. Wilders on Wednesday evening said he was disappointed that his party had lost seats and acknowledged that he would likely not be part of the next government. But he promised to fight on from the opposition. “Of course, we would have liked to win more seats, and I regret the loss, but it’s not as if we were wiped off the map,” he said.