Polls show Liberals and Labour ahead, dispelling concerns radical eurosceptics might gain sway in a core eurozone country
Mainstream pro-European parties look set to dominate the Dutch parliamentary election on Wednesday, dispelling concerns that radical eurosceptics might gain sway in a core eurozone country and push to quit the European Union or flout its budget rules.
But the Netherlands is likely to remain an awkward, tough-talking member of the single currency area, strongly resisting transfers to eurozone debtors, regardless of whether prime minister Mark Rutte's Liberals or the centre-left Labour party of Diederik Samsom win the most seats.
Opinion polls on Tuesday showed the Liberals and Labour on 36 seats each or the Liberals fractionally in front, with the hard-left Socialists and the far-right anti-immigration Freedom party fading in third and fourth place respectively.
That makes it more likely, though not certain, that Rutte, with the strongest international profile, will stay as prime minister.
Early morning commuters at Amsterdam's central train station were among the first to vote.
Maike Stukkeheim, an artist, said: "I had a hard time choosing who to vote for, in the end I voted Socialists. I don't particularly like them but I wanted to vote left. I think it's (the political landscape0 getting more and more rightwing, more conservative."
The final days of campaigning turned into a two-horse race between Rutte, 45, a former Unilever human resources manager dubbed the "Teflon" prime minister because of his ability to brush off disasters, and the energetic Samsom, 41, an ex-Greenpeace activist whose debating flair wowed voters.
Both parties have played down talk that they will end up in coalition, together with one or two smaller parties, but parliamentary arithmetic suggests this is the most probable outcome given a highly fragmented political landscape.
But about a fifth of the 12.5 million voters say they are undecided, leaving room for surprises.
The Netherlands is one of the few triple-A rated countries left in Europe and a longstanding ally of Germany in demanding strict adherence to fiscal discipline. The vote is seen as a barometer of northern European stamina both for austerity and for bailouts to keep the single currency bloc intact.
Thrifty Dutch taxpayers are frustrated by demands for belt-tightening at home, particularly the steady erosion of their cherished welfare state and pensions, while stumping up billions of euros to rescue what they see as profligate budget sinners.
"People have become negative about Europe because we give so much money to Greece and other countries and at the same time we are aware of the fact that we badly need money here to pay for schools, for the army and everything," Jaap Paauwe, a professor of management at Tilburg University, told Reuters.
With the focus on the eurozone crisis and its impact on the domestic economy, Europe took centre-stage during the campaign.
Employers' groups representing big businesses such as electronics giant Philips as well as small and medium-sized firms that form the backbone of the economy ran a campaign highlighting the benefits of EU membership.
The main employers' group hung a banner outside its head office in The Hague proclaiming: "Vote for Europe and your job."
In a pamphlet distributed to voters entitled "The Netherlands earns its living from Europe", business groups said the export-dependent economy would lose €90bn (£72bn) a year in sales without the euro and the EU's internal market.
In contrast, one of the biggest unions posted a cartoon on its website showing the electoral battleground as the last chance saloon with caricatures of Rutte and his allies stalking the saloon bars in the wild west.
Fears over Europe initially played in favour of the two main populist parties, particularly the Socialist party which a month ago was either leading or a close second in opinion polls.
The Socialists have waned largely because of the dismal showing of their leader Emile Roemer, a former teacher, in an almost nightly marathon of television debates.
Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-Islam Freedom party which is calling for the Netherlands to quit the euro and the EU, has also lost support.
Some of his followers are disappointed that he squandered his real power as Rutte's chief ally in parliament when he brought down the government in April by refusing to support another package of budget cuts.
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