Dutch Liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte vowed to work hard Thursday to quickly form a cabinet after receiving a solid mandate to battle Europe's debt crisis at the expense of anti-EU populists.

His ruling VVD, a conservative-liberal party, won Wednesday's election with 41 seats, just two more than center-left Labor, while far-right leader Geert Wilders' PVV party suffered a humiliating defeat and far-left Socialist leader Emile Roemer made no gains.

"We will not betray your trust," Rutte said after his party won the most seats ever, an upset to a European trend that has seen governments toppled around Europe as the debt-crisis bites deeper.

"Tomorrow we get to work and the Netherlands must as quickly as possible have a stable cabinet and then I'll start working with you so that the Netherlands can emerge stronger from the crisis," Rutte told a victory party in The Hague late Wednesday.

The victory by Rutte's VVD, closely followed by rising Labor star Diederik Samsom's PvdA, means that the new coalition will be moderate and marks a victory for parties committed to debt-busting austerity.

The vote reflected the country's commitment to its enduring relationship with Europe and will keep the eurozone's fifth largest economy closely allied with economic powerhouse Germany.

"This is one of the only leaders in Europe that has had elections right in the middle of the crisis and who was re-elected," Claes de Vreese, political communication lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, told AFP.

"In fact, when you look at the results, he wasn't only re-elected but his support grew," he added.

If the two main parties agree an alliance, the VVD and Labor would have 80 seats, a majority in the 150-seat parliament but the coalition would likely want more partners.

Final results will be announced by the Electoral Commission later, with coalition-building talks to begin immediately. But it will take weeks if not months for a new government to be agreed.

"Our parliamentary group, like the others, has been meeting since early this morning to discuss the election results," a parliamentary source close to the Liberals who asked not to be named told AFP on Thursday.

Party chiefs will go to meet parliamentary speaker Gerdi Verbeet in the afternoon to decide on how best to form the next government, the source said.

Nevertheless, VVD leaders have not yet publicly extended a coalition-building hand to the PvdA, and the VVD mayor of The Hague Jozias van Aartsen insisted it would be difficult for the parties to work together.

"There are two strong winners that are really very different from each other," the former foreign minister said.

Fiscally prudent Rutte's government has been allied to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while Samsom's calls for stimulus echo those of France's Socialist President Francois Hollande.