European leaders heaved a sigh of relief Thursday after the Dutch voted Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Liberal party back into power ahead of the far-right, with all eyes turning to polls later this year in France and Germany.
"The Dutch election carries the hope of success, not just in keeping Europe together but in... bringing together once again all of our citizens," said German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
After the Brexit vote and Donald Trump's victory in the US, Wednesday's election was seen as a gauge of the rise of populism in Europe.
It was "a victory for common sense and a great start for Europe's election season," said Holger Schmieding, chief economist with Berenberg bank.
The fact that most Dutch voters had "rebuked the siren songs of the populists may help a little" before a French presidential vote in April and May, and a general election in September in Germany.
After flirting for some months with putting anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders at the helm of the country of 17 million people, in the end Dutch voters, who turned out in droves, opted for stability in one of the eurozone's biggest economies.
With 100 percent of votes counted, Rutte's Liberal VVD was seen as emerging as the largest party in the 150-seat parliament with 33 seats, public broadcaster NOS said according to its own tally.
That is about 21 percent of the vote and eight seats less than in the last election in 2012. But officials acknowledged that as the largest group in the parliament the VVD had won the right to take the lead in seeking to form the next coalition.
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