What you need to know about a snap Dutch election

The vote in the EU's fifth-largest economy and major global exporter will be closely watched in Europe, where far-right parties have made significant electoral gains.

- Who's the favourite? -

Polls suggest the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by Geert Wilders could repeat its seismic election win from 2023, which sent shockwaves through Europe.

The anti-Islam and anti-EU Wilders is unlikely to become prime minister, however, as the other parties have ruled out entering into a coalition with the PVV.

Wilders is blamed for sparking the government's fall after withdrawing his party, complaining that the country's immigration policies were too lax.

This makes the race for second place vital, as the leader of the party that finishes runner-up will probably get a chance to try to form a coalition.

"The others will have to form a coalition without him. And therefore, it's very important who comes second, if he (Wilders) indeed comes first," Sarah de Lange, professor of Dutch politics at Leiden University, told AFP.

Currently running second is the left-leaning Groenlinks/PvdA led by former European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans, seen as a safe pair of hands with strong environmental credentials.

The rising star of Dutch politics, however, is the fresh-faced Henri Bontenbal, 42, whose centrist CDA party has rocketed in the polls to challenge for second place.

Bontenbal promises a return to "normal politics" after the Wilders-inspired chaos of recent years, calling for an end to polarisation.

Dutch voters seem tired of their mud-slinging politicians, with as many as half saying they cannot make up their mind.

- What are the main issues? -

Housing, immigration, health, and the cost of living, according to the EenVandaag poll, which regularly surveys Dutch voters on which topics matter most.

A long-running housing crisis in the country, which has one of Europe's highest population densities, consistently tops the list of voter concerns.

Immigration sits in second place, with the tracking survey showing it is slightly less of a hot-button issue than during the last election.

Healthcare is third, followed by criminality and the cost of living. Climate is one of the least critical issues for Dutch voters, the survey suggests.

On international issues, voters say defence is their top concern, followed by the war in Ukraine, then the war in Gaza.

- How does the vote work? -

It's a crowded field of no fewer than 27 parties, each of which puts up a list of candidates fighting for 150 seats in parliament via a proportional voting system.

This means Dutch voters have to grapple with a massive sheet of paper containing all the candidates.

The total number of votes is divided by 150 and any party hitting the threshold (last election it was just under 71,000) wins a seat in parliament. Unlike in Germany, there is no minimum representation.

Under the Dutch "Polder" system of government, no party is strong enough to win a 76-seat majority outright, so messy multi-party coalitions are formed to get to the magic number.

Coalition horse-trading starts immediately after the exit polls and often lasts many months. The last government took 223 days to be formed.

"It's very likely that the coalition formation will take a long period, say, anywhere between six months and a year," predicted De Lange.

- Why early elections? -

Wilders suddenly pulled his PVV party out of the ruling coalition on June 3, citing frustration with what he saw as the slow implementation of a tough immigration policy.

"I signed up for the strictest asylum policy, not for the downfall of the Netherlands," fumed the 62-year-old.

He had issued an ultimatum, threatening to torpedo the government if a 10-point plan to crimp immigration was not immediately implemented.

The three other coalition parties held crisis talks with Wilders in a bid to keep the ship afloat, but these broke up just minutes after they began.

The leader of the liberal VVD party, Dilan Yesilgoz, summed up the anger felt by the coalition partners towards Wilders, describing the withdrawal as "super irresponsible."

"How can you do this to the Netherlands?" said Yesilgoz, who later ruled out ever governing with Wilders again.