D66 rising in the polls as safe choice for dissatisfied voters; Now above VVD
With two weeks to go before the parliamentary election, the D66 is continuing its gradual climb in the polls. Over the past month, Rob Jetten’s party has steadily risen to between 13 and 17 seats in the Peilingwijzer, the weighted average of seat polls by Ipsos I&O and Verian/EenVandaag. According to Ipsos I&O, the D66 is benefiting from its position as a safety net for dissatisfied voters from other parties, NOS reports.
With 13 to 17 seats, the D66 is still significantly behind the largest parties in the polls, but now stands just above the VVD (12 to 16 seats). JA21 is the third party in the mid group with 10 to 14 seats.
The VVD is facing serious losses in this election. The Liberal Party currently has 24 seats in parliament. According to D66 leader Jetten, VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz is isolating her party.
In a recent interview with the Telegraaf, Yesilgöz said that she doesn’t want to join a potential Cabinet with GroenLinks-PvdA and Frans Timmermans after the election. She previously also said that she won’t govern with the PVV again and promised that the VVD won’t join a Cabinet that abolishes the mortgage interest deduction. Many other parties have this in their election programs.
Jetten called it “incomprehensible how much Yesilgöz is isolating the VVD.” He didn’t say which parties have the D66’s preference for governing together, only outright excluding the far-right PVV and FvD. “All other parties will have to work together as democratic and positive forces in the coming years,” Jetten said. “The real battle we’re playing now is whether the democratic forces will win against an anti-democrat who has been at the center of power for the past two years, thanks to Yesilgöz, and who has made a complete mess of things.”
With “anti-democrat,” the Jetten was referring to PVV leader Geert Wilders. The far-right party is still the largest in the polls, with 29 to 33 seats on Peilingwijzer. The CDA and GroenLinks-PvdA follow, both with 22 to 26 seats.
Among the smaller parties, the decline of the SP over the past month is striking. Jimmy Dijk’s party now stands at 3 to 5 seats, the same as the animal party PvdD, BBB, and FvdD. Volt, DENK, ChristenUnie, and SGP have 2 to 4 seats. 50Plus has a chance of making a comeback in parliament with 1 to 3 seats, and NSC will likely disappear with 0 to 1.
Tom Louwerse, the political scientist behind the Peilingwijzer, stressed that a large group of voters still don’t know who they want to vote for. The Verian/EenVandaag poll indicated that half of voters still haven’t picked a party, and Ipsos I&O estimates the undecided percentage to be even higher.
