According to opinion polls, the Socialist Party (SP) is set to win Dutch parliamentary elections due on September 12.

The latest polls indicate that the SP, which originally emerged from a Maoist group, would win 36 seats in the 150-seat Lower House. This would more than double its current total of 15 deputies, placing the party in front of the right-wing Liberal Party (VVD), led by Mark Rutte, which has just 31 seats and heads the governing coalition.

Polls project the Labour Party (PvdA) will win just 16 seats (previously 30) and the Christian Democrats (CDA) 14 (previously 21). The two parties that have dominated Dutch politics for decades would have a combined vote lower than the SP.

The far-right, anti-Islamist Freedom Party (PVV) of Geert Wilders is also recording losses. Polls give the party 18 seats in a new parliament, instead of its current 24.

Political observers now say that Emile Roemer, the leading SP candidate, could be the next Dutch prime minister. The 50-year-old teacher would, however, have to find several coalition partners. There are currently 10 parties represented in the Dutch Parliament. This figure is expected to rise to 12 after the election.

The political upheaval revealed in the polls is a direct consequence of the euro crisis, as political shock waves are now hitting the fifth largest economy in the euro zone. To understand the root causes of this development, however, it is necessary to go back 30 years.