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A8 WORLD NEWS
Friday 17 March 2017
Centrist European leaders celebrate Dutch election result

to form a government. ners for Rutte — won 19
Rutte’s right-wing VVD eas- seats each.
ily won national elections, On Thursday, Edith Schip-
defying polls that suggest- pers, a prominent VVD par-
ed a close race with anti-Is- ty member, was appointed
lam populist Geert Wilders. to investigate what coali-
With most votes counted tions might be possible in
for the 150-seat legislature, the splintered Dutch politi-
Rutte’s VVD had 33 seats, cal landscape. “We need
eight fewer than in 2012. time for everybody to get
The far-right populist Party back into the mood for
for Freedom of Wilders was cooperation, and that
second with 20 seats, five doesn’t happen in a few
more than the last time but hours,” Rutte said.
still a stinging setback af- All mainstream parties
ter polls in recent months have ruled out cooperat-
had suggested his party ing with Wilders’ party.
could become the largest Meanwhile, congratula-
in Dutch politics. tory messages poured in
“We are the second party from other European lead-
in the Netherlands. Con- ers, among them German
gratulations,” Wilders said, Chancellor Angela Merkel,
popping the cork on a who called the Dutch elec-
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, right, right-wing populist leader Geert Wilders, center, and Social- bottle of sparkling wine at tion “a good day for de-
ist Party leader Emile Roemer talk during a meeting of party leaders with the chairwoman of the
parliament to discus first steps in forming a new Dutch coalition government in The Hague, Neth- a meeting of his new Parlia- mocracy.”
erlands, Thursday, March 16, 2017. mentary bloc. But, he con- “I was very glad, and I
(AP Photo/Peter Dejong) ceded, “We would have think many people are,
preferred to be the first that a high turnout led
MIKE CORDER leaders congratulated diation of far-right popu- party.” to a very pro-European
Associated Press Dutch Prime Minister Mark lism in Europe as he looked The Christian Democrats result,” Merkel said dur-
THE HAGUE, Netherlands Rutte Thursday on an elec- ahead to what is likely to and centrist D66 party — ing a speech in Berlin on
(AP) — Centrist European tion victory seen as a repu- be a long process of talks likely future coalition part- Thursday.q
British PM, Scottish leader tussle over independence vote

JILL LAWLESS on Thursday rejected a call an Union — a move con- May and Scottish First Min- May said “now is not the
Associated Press for a referendum on Scot- demned as a “democratic ister Nicola Sturgeon both time.”
LONDON (AP) — British tish independence before outrage” by Scotland’s na- dug in their heels in a show- “All our energies should
Prime Minister Theresa May Britain leaves the Europe- tionalist leader. down that could compli- be focused on our nego-
cate Britain’s path out of tiations with the European
the EU and threaten the fu- Union,” May said, adding
ture of the United Kingdom. that holding a Scotland ref-
May said “now is not the erendum while EU exit talks
time” to reopen Scotland’s are still underway would
independence debate, “make it more difficult for
though she did not rule out us to get the right deal
a referendum in the future. for Scotland and the right
Britain is to begin the two- deal for the U.K.” The Brit-
year exit process from the ish government’s Scotland
28-nation EU by the end of minister, David Mundell,
this month. said May’s administration
The United Kingdom is “will not be entering into
made up of England, Scot- discussions or negotiations”
land, Wales and Northern about a new referendum
Ireland. The U.K. as a whole on Scottish independence.
decided in a June 23 refer- But Sturgeon, undeterred,
endum to leave the EU, but plans to ask the Scottish
Scots in that ballot voted parliament next week to
62 to 38 percent to remain. start the process of seeking
Sturgeon announced ear- a new referendum.
lier this week that she will She said it would be a
seek a referendum on “democratic outrage” for
Scottish independence to the British government to
be held between the fall stop the people of Scot-
of 2018 and the spring of land “having a choice over
2019, so Scottish voters can their future.”
decide whether to leave “It is for the Scottish parlia-
the EU with the rest of the ment — not Downing Street
U.K. or go it alone. — to determine the timing
The Conservative-led Brit- of a referendum, and the
ish government, however, decision of the Scottish
must agree to a legally parliament must be re-
binding referendum, and spected,” she said.q