The next cabinet will have several tough issues to deal with but political parties have failed to make the choices needed to solve them in their manifestos, according to a new analysis by the government’s socio-cultural think-tank SCP.

The SCP analysed 10 party programmes and concluded that while they all list which problems they want to tackle, they don’t say how they plan to do it.

“For example, they have a lot to say about personnel shortages in healthcare and education, but they don’t actually deal with them,” said SCP director Karen van Oudenhoven in current affairs show Nieuwsuur. “Voters are not looking for promises. They want the cabinet to solve problems.”

In addition, parties which do make concrete proposals fail to analyse if they can actually be put into practice. Plans to “get a grip on” migration and to combat climate change often conflict with international and EU treaties, the SCP points out.

The SCP looked at 10 parties based on their current position in parliament, apart from Pieter Omtzigt’s NSC, because its manifesto came too late.

At least three parties will be needed to form the next government and that means major compromises will have to be made across a wide range of issues.