SCP: Dissatisfaction with politics more widely shared than before

The majority of the Netherlands is dissatisfied with politics and believes that things are not going well in the Netherlands. Photo: ANP / Lina Selg

A large part of the Dutch think that the country is going in the wrong direction and gives the (now resigned) Schoof cabinet a failing grade. This is evident from research by the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP). This dissatisfaction is felt in all layers of the population.

Before the Schoof cabinet fell two weeks ago, gloominess about politics and society prevailed, the SCP notes. In recent months, 58 percent thought that things were not going well in the Netherlands. People are worried about the way we live together, the rising prices, immigration , the housing shortage and politics.

Between autumn and winter, confidence fell from 51 percent to 44 percent. The most common reasons are that people think the government is not solving important social problems, is arguing, chooses the wrong solutions and lacks competence, according to the SCP. This dissatisfaction is felt by all kinds of groups in society.

That sentiment is comparable to the mood that prevailed towards the end of the Rutte IV cabinet. The mood was also negative then. "The mood about the country and politics will be just as gloomy in 2025 as it was in 2023," says Josje den Ridder, researcher at the SCP.

However, the SCP sees clear differences with the period before the fall of the Rutte IV cabinet. For example, the SCP sees that dissatisfaction is now more widely shared than in 2023. The government only received a small pass from people who plan to vote for the VVD, NSC or BBB in the next elections. The government scores a fail among all other voters, including PVV voters.

Also, higher educated people are now predominantly negative. Previously, this group was still relatively positive. Although the criticism that politicians are too concerned with themselves has been heard for some time, that criticism is now louder.

The international political situation also leads to additional concerns. On the one hand, this results in more support for defence expenditure , on the other hand, it is felt that this should not be at the expense of expenditure that is necessary to solve problems in the Netherlands.

The SCP regularly publishes results of the Continuous Survey of Citizen Perspectives . This is a long-term study of the mood in the Netherlands. With this, the agency has measured the mood about society and politics since 2008.