Dutch exit poll suggests neck and neck race between far right and center left in EU election

By MIKE CORDER and RAF CASERT
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A final exit poll suggests that Geert Wilders’ far-right party and a center-left alliance are neck-and-neck in the Dutch election for the European Union parliament. In a possible harbinger of strong electoral gains for the hard right in the 27-nation bloc, the exit poll Thursday indicated that Wilders’ Party for Freedom had made the biggest gains — winning seven seats, up from just one in the last parliament. The poll of some 20,000 voters published by national broadcaster NOS predicted that the center-left alliance would win eight of the 31 European Parliament seats up for grabs in the Netherlands.