Political polls have ruling VVD and anti-Islam PVV tied in popularity

According to the latest poll by Peilingwijzer, the race for the biggest party in the Tweede Kamer is currently a tie between the VVD and the PVV. This is the first big poll after the summer recess, during which Geert Wilders' PVV seemingly lost some ground.

The Peilingwijzer combines the information of five other polls - from I&O Research, Ipsos, Maurice de Hond's Peil.nl, De Stemming/EenVandaag and TNS NIPO - to get a complete overview of what the Dutch voter is thinking.

With the next year's elections looming ever closer, currently ruling VVD and anti-Islam party PVV are tied at between 25 and 29 virtual parliamentary seats each, making them by far the most popular parties in the Netherlands at this time.

Second most popular party currently goes to the CDA with between 16 and 18 seats, followed by the D66 (14-18) and SP (14-16). The PvdA and GroenLinks are tied with between 11 and 13 seats.

The upcoming elections, scheduled for March next year, means that the political parties are releasing their election campaign programs one after the other. So far we know that 50Plus (between 7 and 11 seats) is focusing on the elderly and regulated cannabis cultivation. Geert Wilders surprised his PVV with the sudden publishing of a one page campaign, mostly focused on the "de-Islamization" of the Netherlands.

The D66 is focusing on integration and equal chances for all. D66 leader Alexander Pechtold also stated that he will leave the party if the D66 does not make it into the next cabinet. And GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver presented his party's campaign, focusing on the climate, tax evasion by multinationals and income equality, on Tuesday night.