"Fudge" it might appear to the rest of Europe, but the weekend summit deal on the Dutch presidency of the European Central Bank has done the country's popular Prime Minister, Mr Wim Kok, no harm at all at home. His Labour Party (PvdA) won a resounding endorsement in the general election yesterday.
Final estimates from Dutch TV tallies last night gave Labour an extra nine seats on the 37 they held last time out, making the return of a Labour-led coalition certain, although one of the partners may yet drop out of the team.
And Mr Kok's main coalition partner, the economically conservative Liberals (VVD), appears likely to increase substantially its share of seats by seven to 38, a ringing endorsement of the rigidly orthodox, controversial Finance Minister, Mr Gerrit Zalm.
Losers were the opposition Christian Democrats (CDA) and centrist allies of the government, D66, whose presence in the government is seen as important in brokering peace between right and left. Their leader, Mr Els Borst, has threatened that they will not take a place in government if they lose more than half their seats.
Early this morning they appeared to have lost nine of their 24 seats, but were being encouraged by the Liberals to stay in the coalition. "They can be very useful and will help create a realistic cabinet," Mr Zalm told journalists, clearly anxious for a cabinet counterbalance to the strengthened Labour Party. But their votes are not crucial in the 150-strong chamber.
The opposition Christian Democrat party (CDA), which was unceremoniously booted out of power in the 1994 elections after governing the country continuously for 76 years, is facing another four years in opposition as it looks set to continue its downslide, losing yet more seats in this ballot. They are likely to have 29 seats, a loss of five.
The other winners appear to be the opposition Green-Left and the Socialist Party, whose joint representation is likely to be boosted to 17 from 11 at the last election. Their vote is attributed to a disillusionment with the role of the once-radical D66 and the drift to the centre of Labour.
The bargaining to form a majority begins today.
