Rutte: VVD probably largest national party

It looks like the VVD will become the largest national party in the municipal elections, says party leader Mark Rutte. He congratulates the local parties, which are larger than national parties in many municipalities.

Still, it promises to be exciting for his party. “I can’t say yet how the evening will turn out,” said the VVD leader. According to exit polls from Ipsos, commissioned by the NOS, the VVD is losing votes in Amsterdam, Zwolle and Breda, among others. In Rotterdam, the VVD will retain its current five seats, according to preliminary data that the municipality has provided to the ANP’s Election Service.

“In some municipalities there are pluses, there are municipalities where we remain the same and in some we go down,” said Rutte. He regrets that because of the war in Ukraine, which demands a lot of his attention, he was less visible during this campaign. “I could do less than I would have liked to do myself.”