Amsterdam - More than 40 per cent of all voters in the Edam- Volendam municipality voted for the far-right Freedom Party PVV in the elections for the European Parliament on Thursday, Dutch media reported on Sunday. In the village of Volendam alone, 49.9 per cent of the electorate voted for the Freedom Party founded by Geert Wilders, known for his fierce criticism on Islam and migrants and his Euro-scepticism.
Edam is a picturesque traditional Dutch town, world famous for its Edam cheese.
Volendam, known for its wooden homes, is a traditional Dutch fisher's village where people still wear traditional Dutch costumes.
For decades, the best Dutch-language pop music has originated from Volendam.
The local economy depends to a great extent on the more than two million international tourists who come to visit Edam and Volendam each year to enjoy traditional Dutch culture.
Both towns have an overwhelmingly Dutch-born population and a negligible number of foreign-born inhabitants.
Speaking on Dutch television about why they voted for the far- right Freedom Party, many people from Edam-Volendam said they felt the European Union (EU) "ignored" their Dutch identity and "Dutch interests."
Others said that with the economic crisis, all jobs should be given to the Dutch only.
Volendam-Edam, just north-east of Amsterdam, has a population of 28,000.
The Dutch were the only European Union member state to count the ballots already on Thursday, days before voting ended across the EU.
