The introduction of a 9pm curfew and the childcare benefits fraud scandal have not had much impact on voters, seven weeks away from the general election, the Volkskrant reported on Wednesday.

A new opinion poll from I&O Research confirms earlier trends – that voters have already made up their minds about who to vote for, the paper said. And if nothing changes in the coming weeks, the current coalition will be able to continue in power for a further four years.

Both D66 and the CDA are still down on their position at the 2017 general election, but prime minister Mark Rutte’s VVD has made gains since then and is far above the rest.

If there were a general election tomorrow, the VVD would win 42 seats, or 28% of the vote, the I&O poll suggests. ‘Voters continue to reward Rutte for his approach to coronavirus and his leadership during the crisis,’ researcher Milan Driessen told the paper.

There is also relatively stability among the far right parties, the VK said. Geert Wilders PVV remains on 19 seats, or 13% of the vote, with Forum voor Democratie on 3%. New party JA12, formed by dissent FvD members, would win two seats, or 1.3% of the total.

The general election takes place on March 17. This year the campaign will mainly take place online, given social distancing restrictions, but the first big televised debate will be broadcast on RTL on February 28.