Just six months after the creation of a new government, around half of the Dutch have no confidence that it can solve the country’s economic and social problems.

Confidence in the government’s ability to steer the Netherlands successfully has fallen over the past three months, with just 51% now saying they have faith in the cabinet, new figures from the SCP show.

The government’s socio-cultural think tank’s latest research states older people in particular are unhappy, with 75% thinking the gap between the rich and poor is too wide.

Almost half of the over-65s expect their financial position to deteriorate, compared with just one in five youngsters.

Election

In the third quarter, which included the general election and cabinet formation, 57% said they had confidence in the new government.

Six out of 10 now feel they have no influence whatsoever on what the government does.

And 52% now think the government ‘does not do enough for people like me’. In the previous quarter, that was 49%.