On its first Budget Day, the Jetten I Cabinet enjoys the confidence of only 16 percent of voters, according to an RTL Nieuws survey of its news panel. Confidence in this government has halved since it took office, mainly because of a lack of decisive action.

The Jetten I Cabinet has been in office for just over six months. In February, 33 percent of voters had confidence in the new team of Ministers and State Secretaries. Six months later, half of that confidence has evaporated. And that is visible across the political spectrum. Even D66 voters’ confidence in the first Cabinet led by their party has dropped from 76 percent to 49 percent.

For comparison, confidence in the previous right-wing Cabinet led by non-partisan Dick Schoof started at 37 percent and dropped to 24 percent six months later. However, it must be noted that confidence evaporated rapidly shortly after, when the Schoof I Cabinet collapsed twice. After nine months, only 16 percent of voters still had confidence in it.

The current Cabinet’s main problem is that voters no longer believe it can get anything done. So far, little has come from its promises to resolve the nitrogen crisis, address the housing shortage, build ten new cities, and manage the influx of asylum seekers. Only about 10 percent of voters still think that the Cabinet will achieve breakthroughs on key issues.

As Prime Minister, Rob Jetten enjoys more public confidence than the Cabinet as a whole, but that too has dropped sharply. When he took office, 47 percent of voters had confidence in him. After six months, that has dropped to 29 percent. A majority (59 percent) considers him likeable and personable, but only 13 percent view him as a strong leader, and only 19 percent think he can unite people and parties.