Anti-Islam Freedom Party gets majority in Dutch polls

A Dutch anti-Islam party has more than doubled its seats in parliament in a national vote, though it is unclear if it will take part in a coalition. Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders said he wanted to be part of government. The election saw the centre-right Liberal Party (VVD) emerging as the largest party, one seat ahead of the centre-left Labour Party. The Christian Democrat party of outgoing Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende suffered a big defeat. Weeks of coalition negotiations are expected to follow the election. With at least 96% of votes counted, the VVD had 31 of 150 seats, while Labour had 30. The unexpected big winner was the anti-Islam Freedom Party, the PVV, which took its number of seats from nine in the last parliament to 24 - its best-ever finish. Wilders has campaigned to stop the Islamisation of the Netherlands. He wants the Koran banned, and has suggested a tax on headscarves worn by Muslim women.