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DUTCH REFERENDUM RESULTS - LIVEBLOGGED
Wednesday, June 1, 2005
DUTCH REFERENDUM RESULTS - LIVEBLOGGED
Turn-out has passed the magic 30% mark, which will compel the main political parties to accept the verdict. Polls will remain open until 9:00 PM local time so that means we should have a rough idea of the outcome by 1:00 PM Pacific Time. Coincidental or not, the European Commission today put some pressure on the Dutch government to scrap one of the country's holiest cows: the deductability of interest paid on home mortgages. If the Dutch voter needed some further confirmation as to how the Brussels bureaucracy might adversely impact the cherished Dutch way of life then this is surely it. UPDATE I: At 7:00 PM local time turn-out apparently passed the 50% mark. This is significant. UPDATE II: The Euro took another beating today following reports that senior German policymakers had been discussing the 'failure' of the European monetary system. It's a rumour only, but still. UPDATE III: At 21:05 the exit polls indicated that 63% voted No. Ouch, that's going to hurt the 'yes' camp. Badly. Voter turn-out was equally monumental: 62%. Remember only a week ago the numbers indicated a turn-out of somewhere between 40 and 50% and the no-vote was expected to come in at around 55%. Let's see if the 63% number holds but whatever the final number, it's a resounding 'no'. UPDATE IV: Zacht Ei is liveblogging too and calls it a massacre: Never before have people turned out in such high numbers to vote in a European election. It's quite ironic that the first time they choose to do so is when they have a chance to voice their concerns.Sered Pov is sampling some initial reactions. UPDATE V: Independent MP Geert Wilders will introduce a 'no confidence' motion against the government tomorrow. This is not likely to succeed, but given the wafer-thin majority that the governing centre-right coalition currently has we are bound to see some political instability in the months ahead. Not good, since the opposition Labour Party is expected to do well if general elections were held today and that solidifies my argument that in the end the entire referendum saga ironically will end in a leftward drift. UPDATE VI: Rich Lowry calls it "uber-rejecting" FINAL UPDATE: With some 92% counted the No vote now stands at 63.0%. Turn-out 63.1% Impressive stuff. More analysis later. END RESULT: 61.6% No, 38.4% Yes with a 62.8% turn-out. Here's my final analyis. 
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