The Dutch Electoral Council has officially declared Rob Jetten the winner of last week’s election, setting the 38-year-old centrist on course to become Netherlands’ youngest-ever prime minister as well as the country’s first openly gay prime minister.
Jetten scored a victory of 29,668 votes over anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders, the council said, after an election seen as a bellwether for the rise of Europe’s far right.
“I think we’ve now shown to the rest of Europe and the world that it is possible to beat the populist movements if you campaign with a positive message for your country,” he told AFP last Friday.
Popular Campaign
No other political leader commanded as much screen time during the campaign as Jetten and his smile and cheerful message resonated with voters, while his rivals sometimes struggled.
Hardly a night went by without him on TV. When Wilders cancelled an appearance because of security fears, Rob Jetten seized the moment and took his place. He even featured in a TV quiz show recorded months ago called The Smartest Person.
He was able to convey a positive message summed up by the slogan Het kan wel – an optimistic phrase that borrows from Barack Obama’s “Yes, we can”. It contrasted strongly with Wilders, who he accused of “sowing division”.
Private Life
A self-confessed politics nerd as a child, the young Jetten grew up in a small town in the southern province of Brabant and came out as Gay when he was young.
Jetten has not made his private life part of his political identity, but five years ago he posted a video in which he read out a long list of homophobic messages from his phone, to prove why an international day against homophobia was important. Jetten is now engaged to Argentine hockey player, Nicolás Keenan, and they are due to marry next year.
