The Socialist Party has drawn level with the ruling VVD in the latest Maurice de Hond opinion poll, while support for Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam PVV has reached a post-election low.

The poll puts both the SP and VVD on 30 seats, while the PVV is on 21, three down on last week’s total and six below its year-end position.
The SP has been gaining steadily in the polls in recent weeks, attracting much of its new support from Labour and the PVV.
De Hond says the decline in popularity of the PVV partly stems from the government cuts introduced last year. The party is not part of the government but does support it on economic policy.
In addition, Wilders’ comments about the queen’s headscarf during her state visit to the UAE and Oman have also irritated voters. Some 50% of PVV supporters say the queen was right to cover her head while visiting a mosque and 49% support the way the queen responded – by stating Wilders was talking nonsense.
Support
The Volkskrant says the PVV appears to be having trouble in keeping its supporters. Support for the anti-Islam group is at its lowest level since the VVD-led government came into power in late 2010.
The poll shows that just 65% of people who voted PVV at the June 2010 general election say they would definitely do so again.
The De Hond poll shows there is little change in the position of the other parties. The CDA, which forms a minority alliance with the VVD, is on 13 seats – it has 21 in the current parliament, while Labour (PvdA) is on 18. Labour is currently the biggest opposition party with 30 seats.
A TNS-Nipo poll on Friday put the ruling VVD on 28 seats and the SP on 26 while Thursday’s poll by Synovate gave the VVD 35 seats and put the SP third with 22.