A survey conducted by I&O Research has revealed that support for the Dutch government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis has decreased, and that the majority of people are in favour of stricter measures. 

I&O Research carried out the survey on behalf of NOS, polling more than 2.000 people across the country for their opinions on coronavirus measures in the Netherlands, and the new face mask advice.

Dwindling support for Dutch government 

I&O Research found that the number of people who support the government’s coronavirus policies and measures has fallen from 75 to 65 percent since the beginning of September. Looking at more specific policy, the support for the government’s economic approach and health policies has also dropped over the past month - from 62 to 60 percent and 77 to 70 percent respectively. 

The diminishing support appears to stem from two main issues. It is not necessarily that people disagree with the measures themselves, but instead that they feel the government is too slow to react, and that when they do eventually react, their policies are unclear. For example, people would rather face masks be made mandatory, instead of this ambiguous “urgent advice” that has recently been issued by Prime Minister Mark Rutte. 

Call for stricter coronavirus measures

Another significant change over the past month has been a rise in the number of people calling for stricter coronavirus measures - in September, only 37 percent felt the measures weren’t sufficient, this has now risen to 66 percent. 

Furthermore, more people have started wearing face masks. Before the summer, only around 3 percent of people were wearing masks, but now 20 percent say to always or usually wear a face mask, and a further 21 percent say they sometimes do. 

The survey reveals that, perhaps unsurprisingly, people living in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague are more likely to wear face masks, and that women are more likely than men (24 percent compared to 15 percent).