The Labour party (PvdA) would win just 18 seats in parliament if an election was held now, according to the weekly Maurice de Hond poll on Sunday.

This is the lowest poll rating in the party’s history. It currently has 33 seats.
Other parties have stayed more or less stable since the previous poll, although the improvement in D66’s fortunes continues. It would now take 14 seats compared with the three it won at the last election.
Education minister Ronald Plasterk heads the list of ministers of whom people have high expectations. Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende is at number five.