The Farmer-Citizen Party, the BBB, had a disappointing day in the Dutch elections.

The party, which shot from obscurity to become the largest party in the Netherlands in March’s local and senate elections, finished in sixth place in Thursday’s poll.

The far-right Party for Freedom dominated the election, gaining 37 of the 150 seats in the Dutch parliament.

The centre-left Green-Labour coalition, led by former EU Environment Commissioner Frans Timmermans, finished second, winning 25 seats.

A shock

The result has come as a shock, as opinion polls through the campaign had seen another brand-new party, the centrist New Social Contract, lead the way.

It’s uncertain what sort of government will now emerge. If Party For Freedom leader Geert Wilders is to form a coalition, it’s likely that the right-of-centre BBB will form part of that government.

The BBB is likely to win seven seats, and will be one of no less than 15 different parties in the next parliament.

The largest party has anchored the government following recent elections, but this time may be different. The success of the anti-immigration, virulently anti-Islam Party For Freedom mirrors the success in Italy of the Brothers of Italy.

Geert Wilders is also anti-EU and has spoken of wanting the Netherlands to withdraw form the European Union.

It is a further sign that next year's European Parliamentary elections could see the most divided parliament in the history of the EU.