Mark Rutte has come out on top of the first live television debate between Dutch political leaders. A majority of viewers said he won the TV contest between the leaders of the four largest parties.

Mr Rutte’s conservative VVD party is building on a solid lead in the opinion polls. Just two and a half weeks from election day, he is the clear favourite to be in the position of forming a coalition after the 9 June election.

The topic dominating the campaign is the economy. Voters are worried. The crisis surrounding the euro has now overshadowed recovery from the recession brought on by the financial crisis two years ago.

Lingering disappointment
Mark Rutte has been able to position his party as the best able to deal with the economy. He has been helped by lingering disappointment in the recent Christian Democrat - Labour - Christian Union coalition government, which fell apart in February after months of squabbling. During the debate, CDA leader Jan Peter Balkenende and Labour leader Job Cohen played right into Mr Rutte's hands.

"These two men are standing here bickering and there’s a distinct possibility that the Netherlands will once again be saddled with this sort of government,” he said.

For its part, the Labour Party thought it could avoid negative associations with the last three years in government by bringing in a new leader. But Job Cohen has never run in a national campaign, and it shows.

Plus, Mr Cohen has a background in law, and is not comfortable discussing economics and financial issues. In perhaps the most embarrassing moment of the debate, he could not answer a question about Labour’s health care policy.

“I’ve not got those figures to hand,” he admitted.

Miscalculated
It would appear that the Labour Party miscalculated in replacing Wouter Bos by Job Cohen as its leader. Mr Bos, an economist and former finance minister, was widely praised for his handling of the economic crisis. Mr Cohen, on the other hand, is mainly known for his conciliatory policies as mayor of Amsterdam with its many ethnic communities. Issues surrounding integration and immigration, on which Mr Cohen might be able to score, are only playing a minor role in this campaign.

The lack of interest in integration as an issue is also hurting Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders, who took part in Sunday's television debate after skipping Friday's opening radio debate. Mr Wilders’ opinion poll showing has gone down significantly over the past two months, and it is now highly unlikely his right-wing populist party will among the top three on election day.

Mr Wilders is, however, attempting to bring the discussion back to immigration. Last week, he released the results of research into how much immigrants are costing the country. This was seen as an attempt to translate his anti-immigration message into an economic one.

Irritating
Mr Wilders was at his anti-establishment best during Sunday's debate, getting his points across clearly while visibly irritating his opponent of choice, Job Cohen. At one point, Mr Wilders went so far as to walk away from Mr Cohen while the Labour leader was addressing him.

But so far, the strategy has failed to produce results. An instant poll among the public showed viewers placed Mr Wilders joint last in the debate.

Jan Peter Balkenende, who was also placed last, has a different problem. After eight years as prime minister, it looks like the public has had enough of him, and his Christian Democrat party is struggling in the polls. Mr Balkenende was on the attack in both Friday's radio debate, and on Sunday on television, fiercely criticising both the VVD and Labour.

Proud
To no avail. In a telling moment during the debate, Mr Balkenende summed up why he should serve another term as prime minister.

"We started in 2002, and we're in better shape now that we were then... I'm proud of that."

But it does not appear that many of Mr Balkenendes compatriots agree.

Certainly Mark Rutte does not. If the VVD can maintain its current lead through to 9 June, it will be the first time in more than 100 years that the party will have the chance to lead the country.

The next debate takes place on Wednesday evening. The entire evening will be about the economy. A sunny outlook for the current frontrunner.