The ruling right-wing Liberal VVD continues to improve its performance in the latest Maurice de Hond opinion poll and has stretched its lead over the opposition D66.

The new poll, published on Sunday, puts the VVD on 28 seats, one up on a week ago but still well below its 2012 general election total of 41. The Dutch parliament has 150 seats.

The D66 Liberal democrats remain second but go down from 23 to 22. During the European elections in March, D66 had a six-seat lead on the VVD in the De Hond poll.

The ruling Labour party (PvdA) is also continuing its recovery and is now on 15 seats, up from a May low of 10.

Despite the sharp drop in support for the two coalition parties since the general election, 46% now hope the government will remain in office for the full four years. A year ago, that had plunged to 33%.

Foreign minister Frans Timmermans is the most popular minister with an approval rating of 6.1. Prime minister Mark Rutte scores five out of 10.