Immigration minister Marjolein Faber easily survived a motion of no confidence in Wednesday’s bad-tempered debate about her performance and cabinet unity.

The debate was called by opposition MPs following Faber’s refusal to approve five honours for volunteers with refugee settlement agency COA. She had argued that their work conflicted with her plans to reduce the number of asylum seekers.

Faber told MPs in a briefing that she was 100% behind prime minister Dick Schoof’s decision to sign the documents instead. Schoof told parliament during the debate that cabinet unity did not require Faber to sign them herself.

The entire cabinet agreed that the volunteers deserved recognition, and that “reconfirms” the cabinet’s unity, Schoof said.

Opposition MPs submitted a motion of no confidence in Faber, but it fell far short of majority support as coalition parties rallied around the minister, despite earlier criticism of her refusal to sign the papers.

Nevertheless, commentators say the support for Faber is not wholehearted and stems from concern about the consequences of her dismissal. Faber is the most prominent minister for the far-right PVV, and Geert Wilders had hinted he would collapse the cabinet unless she received full backing.