The people of the Netherlands head to the polls on Wednesday following the collapse of the ruling coalition in June. 

The far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by firebrand Geert Wilders is widely tipped to win again but looks unlikely to have the broader support needed to form a coalition government.

In 2023 Wilders and the PVV secured 37 seats in the Dutch parliament becoming the largest political party for the first time in its 25-year history.

At the time, Wilders said his anti-immigration and anti-Islam party would not be ignored and that it would govern. 

Needing to rely on a right-wing coalition consisting of three other parties including the populist Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), centrist New Social Contract (NSC) and liberal-conservative VVD, Wilders failed to secure the position of prime minister, the role instead falling to technocrat Dick Schoof.

After 11 months the fragile alliance collapsed after Wilders pulled the PVV out of the coalition due to a row over immigration policy.

This time, the PVV is leading the polls, but a number of major parties have ruled out joining them in another coalition government, which could open the door to a more centrist alliance.

"I hope but there's also a little bit of a fear that I have is that we move back towards the same parties we had in the last 40 years that we still don't have the progressive parts we need in the Netherlands," said Laurens Dassen, Member of the Dutch House of Representatives with the Volt party, told CGTN Europe.

Volt is campaigning on a progressive agenda focused on the climate and greater European integration. They are one of 27 parties vying for a seat at the political table jostling for the 150 seats up for grabs in the Dutch parliament.

No single party has secured the 76 seats needed to form an outright majority in over a century meaning that a coalition government is almost guaranteed to be needed following Wednesday's vote.

The previous government collapsed after 11 months. But the Farmers Defense Force says a return to centrist politics that dominated the political landscape for decades in the Netherlands isn't the answer.

"It's not only farmers, but also oil companies, for example. They are bashed a lot by the establishment and I think if we go back to them we'll just continue the road downwards of the Netherlands and we'll end up without farmers and without money," Jos Ubels, Vice-Chairman of the Farmers Defense Force told CGTN.

The political landscape has grown increasingly polarized over recent years with migration expected to be a key campaign issue for voters during this election.

While deep divisions exist over the root causes, with many on the far-right blaming immigration and weak border controls, there is a broad consensus across the political spectrum that the nation's housing crisis needs to be tackled. Industry analysts say there's a current shortfall of about 400,000 units.

"That's about 5 percent of the housing stock at the moment, so that means one in every 20 persons doesn't have housing," said Frank Wassenberg, an expert with the housing planning organization, Platform 31.

Wednesday's vote is a chance for the Dutch public to decide what political road the country should take but the task of forming a new governing coalition to drive that change is a process that could still take months.