Independent MP Pieter Omtzigt has said he will not make the long-awaited announcement about his political future until he has been on holiday with his family and thought it all through.

Omtzigt left the Christian Democrats in 2021 after a highly critical report he wrote about the party went public and has been an independent since then. He has built up a reputation for asking difficult questions and had a prominent role in exposing the discrimination at the heart of the childcare benefit scandal.

Opinion polls indicate Omtzigt would do extremely well in the November 22 elections if he did decide to set up his own party and run. Some have suggested he is also the most popular choice for prime minister.

So far Omtzigt has said he will not rejoin the CDA and has rejected overtures from the pro-farmers BBB.

However, the Volkskrant reported on Wednesday that the MP, who has been in parliament since 2003 has already laid down the basis for his own party and has assembled a team of five close allies to help him.

Quoting anonymous sources, the paper said Omtzigt is feeling the pressure of public expectations and is not after the job of prime minister, preferring instead to remain an MP.

He is due to return from holiday on the weekend of August 19. The deadline for registering new parties to compete in the general election is August 28.