Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's Christian Democrats had a narrow lead as voting began in national elections in the Netherlands today.
However, with many voters undecided their Labour rivals could still cause an upset.
Opinion polls show neither Mr Balkenende's centre-right alliance with VVD liberals nor a left-wing combination of Labour, the Socialists and Green Left would win a parliamentary majority, making protracted coalition negotiations likely.
Wouter Bos, the leader of the parliamentary group of the Labour Party, casts his vote in Amsterdam today
Debate focused largely on welfare reforms Mr Balkenende says have helped the economy, instead of immigration that previously divided the country.
The Christian Democrats (CDA) have rebounded amid accelerating economic growth and falling unemployment.
The last opinion polls by Maurice de Hond and Interview-NSS both gave the CDA a four-seat lead over Labour in the 150-seat parliament, down from about tenseats a week ago, but still making Mr Balkenende's party the largest in the assembly.
De Hond put the CDA on 42 seats, compared with 44 in the last elections in 2003, while Labour would win 38, down from 42.
The pollster said most voters thought Mr Balkenende (50) had performed best in a live television debate with Labour's Wouter Bos and other party leaders yesterday evening.
Mr Balkenende, likened to boy wizard Harry Potter because of his looks and inexperience when he took office in 2002, has gained gravitas and portrays 43-year-old Mr Bos, dubbed by some as a
Mr Balkenende stressed his economic legacy in the debate, while Mr Bos accused the centre-right government of pandering to big business and the wealthy while failing to fight poverty and inequality.
The hard-left Socialists look set to more than double their nine seats as left-wing voters have expressed displeasure at Labour's apparent preference for a centrist coalition with the CDA rather than one with the left.
Turnout is predicted to be about 80 per cent of the 12 million registered voters.
Dutch John F. Kennedy, as being superficial.