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| Dutch rookie party shows major gains ahead of Netherlands elections | Dutch rookie party shows major gains ahead of Netherlands elections |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| An untested leftwing party is taking the lead ahead of the Dutch election next month, reflecting resentment over austerity and signalling that one of the eurozone's core northern countries could reject German demands to tighten public deficits. | |
| Polls show the Socialist party could outperform the pro-business Liberal party on 12 September, suggesting it can win between a fifth and a quarter of the seats in parliament. | Polls show the Socialist party could outperform the pro-business Liberal party on 12 September, suggesting it can win between a fifth and a quarter of the seats in parliament. |
| That would put the Socialist party and its leader, Emile Roemer, in a position to form a coalition where it could influence policy on Europe, despite having no experience of government beyond local level. | |
| The appeal of Roemer, a 50-year-old former teacher, with a toothy smile and a down-to-earth manner, lies in his very ordinariness. He takes his holidays on the Dutch island of Texel, enjoys Italian food and says he's "no bookworm". One of his favourite films is The Silence of the Lambs. | |
| "Of course at local level it's about roads and schools, and at national level it's much harder, you are dealing with Europe. But he understands compromise," Gijs Moes, a Liberal politician who worked with Roemer in local government, said. | |
| One area where the two parties differ and where the Socialists are making waves is Europe. | |
| The Socialist party opposed the euro before it was introduced, although it does not want to scrap it now, and defied a europhile consensus by successfully campaigning against the European constitution in a 2005 referendum. | |
| Roemer wants to preserve welfare benefits for the poor at a time when the prime minister, Mark Rutte, of the Liberals is pushing for spending cuts to bring the Netherlands' ratio of public debt to gross domestic product under 3%, in line with European rules. | Roemer wants to preserve welfare benefits for the poor at a time when the prime minister, Mark Rutte, of the Liberals is pushing for spending cuts to bring the Netherlands' ratio of public debt to gross domestic product under 3%, in line with European rules. |
| Political elites sniggered when Roemer appeared to confuse the European Stability Mechanism, a eurozone rescue fund, with the European Central Bank, in a recent parliamentary debate, but the gaffe has not dented the party's support. | Political elites sniggered when Roemer appeared to confuse the European Stability Mechanism, a eurozone rescue fund, with the European Central Bank, in a recent parliamentary debate, but the gaffe has not dented the party's support. |
| However, forming a coalition will not be easy: an alliance with its two natural allies, Labour and GreenLeft, would be unlikely to net it enough seats to form a government. | However, forming a coalition will not be easy: an alliance with its two natural allies, Labour and GreenLeft, would be unlikely to net it enough seats to form a government. |