The right-wing Liberal VVD has returned to its position as the country’s second largest party for the first time in seven years according to the latest TNS Nipo poll, reports the Volkskrant on Monday.

Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam PVV party remains the Netherlands’ most popular political grouping although its support has fallen by four seats in comparison to the previous poll, says the paper.
Opposition party VVD and Labour, which is part of the coalition government, win five and seven seats respectively in the latest opinion poll. The ruling Christian Democrats (CDA) are down two seats.
The CDA’s intention to continue with the Dutch military mission in Afghanistan is one of the reasons for the party’s falling popularity says TNS Nipo’s Peter Kanne in the Volkskrant.
He also believes that PVV voters are moving to the Liberals which they see as a more stable and less extreme party than Geert Wilders’ PVV.
And voters seem to be focusing more on socio-economic issues such as welfare and education than on socio-cultural questions such as integration and immigration, according to Kanne.
If elections were held today, the PVV would win 27 seats in the 150-seat parliament, while the Liberals would get 24. Labour would have 22 MPs and the CDA hits a historical low with just 21.