Netherlands residents pessimistic about country, politics even before Cabinet collapse
Pessimism prevailed in the country even before the Schoof Cabinet collapsed two weeks ago. In the months preceding the collapse, 58 percent of Netherlands residents thought that things were not going well in the country, and only 44 percent gave the Cabinet a passing grade, according to a study by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP). According to the SCP, Netherlands residents think the government is not solving important issues, is too focused on arguing among themselves, and lacks competence.
The SCP compared the sentiment among voters to the period before the fall of the Rutte IV Cabinet, two years ago. Then, too, Netherlands residents were pessimistic and thought there were big problems that the government wasn’t solving. But this time around, the “discontent is more widespread, more people think that politicians are mainly concerned with internal quarrels, and the international situation is an additional source of concern,” the SCP said.
According to the institute, the pessimism is widely shared in all age and education groups, and among voters and non-voters. Only people who plan to vote for the coalition parties VVD, NSC, or BBB in the upcoming election gave the government a narrow pass. All other people failed the Schoof I Cabinet.
The Rutte IV Cabinet also faced criticism for focusing too much on its own egos and too little on the country. “That criticism is now stronger: voters see the constant bickering between the coalition parties as one of the reasons that the government achieved so little. While they expect the Cabinet to achieve results.”
Netherlands residents' main concerns are “about the way of living together, high prices, immigration, the shortage of affordable housing, and politics.” These concerns were also present around the fall of the Rutte IV Cabinet.
New to the list is the deteriorating global situation. The international tensions have more Netherlands residents supporting additional defense spending. However, most believe that this should not come at the expense of spending intended to solve domestic problems like the housing shortage.
