My first thought on seeing reports of Geert Wilders' "monster victory" in the Netherlands general election this week was how good Brexit was for the EU. The Union could well do without another xenophobic right-wing government alongside Hungary and Italy to welcome the latest addition to their number.
More rational thinking prevailed. Wilders' populist party may be the largest in parliament after the election, but it does not have an overall majority. It looks as if Wilders will find no partners for the coalition which would be necessary for him to become prime minister. Not even the formerly liberal VVD, whose campaign also attacked refugees, much to the disgust of D66, the LibDems' sister party in The Netherlands, has come to Wilders' aid. So it looks as if The Hague is in for a lengthy period of horse-trading before a government can be formed, though probably not as long as Belgium is used to.
Critics of PR will point to this paralysis, saying that first-past-the-post leads to strong government. If strong government means that a fascistic demagogue like Wilders gets overall power (has any psephologist run the Dutch figures to see if that would be the case under FPTP?), then I will continue to press for PR, thank you!
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