Only 22% of voters have confidence in Jetten’s cabinet: RTL

Public confidence in Rob Jetten’s cabinet has plunged since ministers were sworn in 100 days ago, according to a survey by RTL Nieuwspanel.

Fewer than a quarter of voters (22%) still have confidence in the centre-right coalition of D66, VVD and CDA, down from 33% when it took office in February.

Trust is highest in voters who backed Jetten’s D66 party in the election, with 57% still hopeful the cabinet can deliver on its promises.

But among supporters of the other two parties, the Christian Democrats (CDA) and right-wing liberal VVD, confidence has dropped to 38% and 22% respectively.

Setback in Senate

The minority government has struggled to make progress on its priorities in the first few months.

Its hopes of tightening the law on asylum were crushed when the Senate voted down a bill drafted by the last right-wing cabinet, while a plan to raise the retirement age faster had to be abandoned under pressure from opposition parties and trade unions.

Only 8% of voters believe the cabinet will manage to reduce the number of asylum seekers, while 7% think it can deal with the housing shortage and 2% believe it can make a difference to poverty.

“A lot of voters think it’s a mess,” RTL’s in-house pollster Gijs Rademaker said. “Voters for coalition parties think the cabinet hasn’t done enough so far.”

Some 11% of voters still hope the coalition can make a difference on nitrogen reduction, which would ease restrictions on farming and housebuilding. Agriculture minister Jaimi van Essen is due to present a new nitrogen plan on June 26, just before the summer recess.