PVV voters find "strictest asylum policy" too lax; Cities unnerved by coalition plans

PVV voters think the new coalition’s plans for the “strictest asylum policy yet” do not go far enough, according to an EenVandaag poll of 18,000 people who voted for one of the four coalition parties. Municipalities are very worried about the right-wing parties’ plan to scrap the asylum distribution law.

People who voted for the far-right PVV are pleased that the new coalition is doing a lot about immigration, but had hoped for more, EenVandaag found. 64 percent of PVV voters are disappointed that the new coalition won’t immediately ignore the European asylum rules, but wait for Brussels to give the Netherlands an exception. And 68 percent think the decision not to process asylum applications for two years does not go far enough.

“I really hoped that we would immediately stop those treaties,” one PVV voter said. “The Netherlands must be about the Netherlands again. No dictates from Brussels.”

Dutch municipalities are worried by the new coalition’s plan to scrap the asylum distribution law, which gave the government the option to force municipalities to take in asylum seekers. Currently, the brunt of asylum reception falls on several municipalities doing a lot, while others do little to nothing.

The Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG) is “negative” about the decision to scrap the law, director Leonard Geluk told ANP. It’s the municipalities that will have to deal with the consequences of that decision, he said. According to him the effect of the policy will be people in the Netherlands with no place to go. “That is extremely worrying.”

The G40, the network of 41 medium-sized cities in the Netherlands, is also concerned. “As cities, we lobbied for the distribution law. In this way, we realize solidarity for the reception of asylum seekers. We are, therefore, disappointed that the aim is to repeal this law.” But until the law is repealed, it is still a law, and “as long as a law is a law, it must be implemented and enforced.”

According to the EenVandaag poll, voters for the new coalition parties are generally pleased that they reached an agreement, but supporters for all four parties have concerns.

A third of VVD voters think halving the healthcare deductible goes too far and have concerns about how that measure will be paid for. 38 percent of BBB voters are unhappy that the coalition maintained the climate goals for 2030 and 2050. And 41 percent of NSC voters are against the plan to increase speed limits on the highway back to 130 kilometers per hour.

Concerns about planned cuts in long-term care, intended for vulnerable elderly people, people with disabilities, and people with mental illnesses, are widely shared among supporters of all parties. A majority of VVD (57 percent) and NSC (58 percent) voters think that the measure goes too far, and large groups of PVV and BBB voters agree.