Prime Minister Dick Schoof defends his Cabinet during his first debate in front of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament. 4 July 2024 - Credit: Tweede Kamer / Tweede Kamer - License: All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, 17 September 2024 - 09:06

Confidence in Dutch Cabinet increased, especially among voters with lower education

Netherlands residents’ confidence in national politics and the government increased significantly compared to the past two years, especially among people with lower levels of education. Dutch people are also less pessimistic, though a majority still believes that things are generally going badly for the Netherlands, according to the annual Budget Day survey Ipsos I&O does for NOS.

The researchers conducted an online survey among a representative group of 2,167 Dutch people between Friday and Monday. They found that 44 percent of Netherlands residents have confidence in national politics and 42 percent in the Schoof I Cabinet. Last year, 33 percent had confidence in politics and only 24 percent in the outgoing Rutte IV Cabinet.

The increase is by far the strongest among people with a low level of education. Last year, only 17 percent of this group had confidence in the government. This year, it is 49 percent. Confidence in the government among people with a medium level of education increased to 48 percent and remained at 34 percent among people with a high level of education.

In 2022, over three-quarters of Netherlands residents thought that “all things considered,” the country was going in the wrong direction. Last year, around 70 percent were still pessimistic. This year that dropped to 57 percent. That doesn’t mean that the Dutch are optimistic, however. Only 19 percent think things are going well, and only 10 percent think that the economy is improving.

Looking at political preference, the coalition parties PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB are the only ones where a majority of voters have confidence in the government. The confidence is highest among PVV voters, with 79 percent having some or a lot of confidence in the Schoof I Cabinet. GroenLinks-PvdA voters have little trust in the government, at 9 percent.

There is also a political divide among voters for the coalition parties, particularly when it comes to the asylum and migration policy. The vast majority of PVV, VVD, and BBB voters trust the government on this point. But NSC voters are strongly divided. Left-wing voters also have little confidence here. Half of voters are in favor of the government’s plan to declare an asylum crisis, especially PVV voters (90 percent).

Voters have little confidence in the government’s nitrogen policy, which didn’t get majority support from voters of a single party. Not even voters of the farmers' party BBB, whose Minister is heading the Agriculture Ministry, support the plans. Almost half of voters think a reduction in livestock numbers is inevitable.

When it comes to the wars in the world, 58 percent of Dutch think the Netherlands must continue to support Ukraine in the war against Russia. Even among PVV voters, there are more who think support should continue than want it to stop. Half of Dutch voters also want the government to put more pressure on Israel to stop attacking Gaza. Only 20 percent are opposed to this. PVV voters are the most strongly divided on this point, while 82 percent of GroenLinks-PvdA voters want more pressure on Israel.