Ruling VVD wins back some support

Ruling Dutch party VVD is continuing to poll stronger after a tough election night where the conservative party lost 23 provincial council seats. The election night loss is expected to lead to three lost senate seats for the VVD. A new poll from Maurice de Hond has the VVD winning back support after the March elections. If ballots were cast today for the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, the VVD would gain two seats at the expense of centrist party D66 and anti-Islam party PVV, compared to polling figures a week earlier. It would still be a tremendous loss for the VVD who would lose 15 total seats compared to 2012 election results. The VVD would then have 26 seats, with PVV on 21 and D66 on 17. The VVD’s tough stance on refugees and its position on the economy resonated with voters, De Hond said. The party floated a proposal to close Dutch borders to all asylum seekers, an announcement that coalition partner PvdA quickly rejected. A debate in parliament found little support for the proposal, except from the Tweede Kamer’s anti-Islamists. Prime Minister Rutte’s statements during an election debate were also seen as a factor. The prime minister said those who leave the Netherlands to fight in support of jihad can die in those countries, and should not expect safe passage back to the Netherlands.

Party	Seats after 2012 election	Mar. 22, 2015 polling	Mar. 29, 2015 polling	Seat change since last poll	Seat change since 2012 election
VVD	41	24	26	+2	-15
PvdA	38	14	14	0	-24
PVV	15	22	21	-1	+6
SP	15	22	22	0	+7
CDA	13	22	22	0	+9
D66	12	19	18	-1	+6
ChristenUnie	5	6	6	0	+1
GroenLinks	4	9	9	0	+5
SGP	3	3	3	0	0
PvdDieren	2	5	5	0	+3
50Plus	2	4	4	0	+2
PiratenPartij	0	0	0	0	0
total	150	150	150	---	---

Table data: Maurice de Hond