First reaction DWARS and Young Socialists - House of Representatives election results

DWARS and the JS look at Wednesday's election results with sadness. The Netherlands chose to make a discriminatory, xenophobic and racist party the biggest. Not only does that hurt, it hits the most vulnerable in society, the very people our parties work for, the hardest. Many Dutch people woke up yesterday feeling that there is no place for them in this country. Our youth organisations stand right beside these people. Hatred should never win out over hope.

This campaign, the VVD has left the door wide open to the extreme right. If the PVV is allowed to lead a cabinet, it will be at the expense of the fundamental human rights of millions of Dutch people, of much-needed climate policy and of a real answer to social security. DWARS and the JS therefore call on all parties not to cooperate with a party that excludes millions of people and fails to respect the rule of law. We also call on all left-wing political youth organisations to form a progressive bloc together against this movement.

Following the GroenLinks-PvdA list merger, DWARS and the Young Socialists also teamed up in the campaign. What followed was a strong substantive campaign that responded to young people's dissatisfaction and lack of trust in politics. We thank all the people who volunteered their time through all weathers in the past weeks. Without you, we could not have done this!

In recent weeks, GroenLinks and the Labour Party have spoken out against the neoliberal policies of the past 13 years and opposed any collaboration with the far right. The parties will now have to stand for that opposition and for that idealism, especially given our expected role as the largest opposition party. In that role, we need to stand up adamantly for the rights of minorities, and speak out vehemently against discrimination, division and hatred.

The anger and sadness that many people feel after this result must be turned into action. Speak out, stand beside the other and join us in the fight to make the Netherlands fairer, greener and more social!