An election not as bizarre as in 2002 or 2003, but certainly not an ordinary pre-Fortuyn one. As I observed before, polarisation is still on the march squeezing at the centre. The rise of Wilders shows that the "spirit of Fortuyn" and the belly populism still has not come to an end in this country, whatever the foreign press writes.

Basing myself on the surprisingly candid late-night chat between the party-leaders, I think that a CDA-SP-PvdA coalition will actually first be considered. Failing that, a CDA-PvdA-ChristenUnie is the best alternative or we spiral into a maddening four-parties coalition. No one wants that - March 2007 are elections for the Senate.

Whatever happens, people voted in favour for a more social policy. The left "bloc" is marginally larger than the right "bloc".

Left- PvdA+SP+GroenLinks+D66+AnimalParty+CU= 32+26+7+3+2+6 = 76
Right- CDA+VVD+SGP+Wilders =41+22+2+9=74

More sane thoughts in the morning.