This time, however, Rob Jetten’s party doesn’t even make the top four. VVD is the second biggest party, with 17 seats, while Volt (9) and SGP (7) are third and fourth. If participants in the poll are to be believed, D66 will have to settle for 6 seats1.
Doubts
Not all respondents were sure what party they were going to vote for on Wednesday. 27 per cent is still trying to choose between two or more parties. GroenLinks-PvdA is on the list the most, meaning that they have a chance to gain 19 more seats. D66 also has a chance to gain more seats. as unsure voters could still account for 10 more seats. Volt is also often on the list of doubters.
The poll shows that students are less likely than staff to vote for GroenLinks-PvdA, with 21 per cent compared to 36 per cent, respectively. VVD, SGP and Forum voor Democratie perform better among students. Nieuw Sociaal Contract, the new party by former CDA politician Pieter Omtzigt that is seeing very promising results in the national polls, is performing much worse among both groups in our poll. Only 3 per cent of both students and staff indicated their intention of voting for the party. The biggest difference among the two groups was observed for Partij voor de Dieren. Only 1 per cent of students supports the party, whereas 9 per cent of staff do.
Climate an important topic
Climate is the most important subject for students and staff who participated in the poll. More than half indicate that the issue plays a role in deciding on their vote. “Because we can still do something about the devastating consequences of the climate crisis”, writes a BIJ1 voter.
Other important subjects are housing (40 per cent), asylum and immigration (32 per cent) and socio-economic security. For more than a quarter, the economy and equal opportunities are important matters. Taxes, Europe and care are also commonly listed. Medical-ethical matters complete the top ten. This matter is mostly important to voters of the Christian parties ChristenUnie and SGP. “Religion plays a big role for me, I’m against euthanasia and abortion”, explains a second-year SGP voter.
Economy students care about the economy
For voters of GroenLinks-PvdA, climate is the major theme, with 85 per cent listing the topic as a concern. They also value equal opportunities, socio-economic security and housing. For VVD voters, the economy and asylum and immigration are important.
For economy students, unsurprisingly, the topic of the economy sits at the top (together with the climate). “Taxes form the key to a properly functioning society”, writes an economy student who is planning to vote for Nieuw Sociaal Contract. “Improving the tax system is essential for economic growth and, for example, for safeguarding socio-economic security.” For RSM students, asylum and immigration are the most important subject. “I think that asylum and immigration are out of hand, and are partly the cause of the tight housing market”, says one first-year RSM student who will vote for D66. For students of ESSB, climate is at the top of the list.
While housing and student debt are not in the ten most named subjects, they are often mentioned in the comments respondents left in the poll. “As a single starter, it’s practically impossible for me to find a home in the Randstad region”, says one young member of staff. “I’m also disadvantaged as part of the unlucky generation, having accrued student debt that won’t help my chances of getting a mortgage.”
In EM’s poll, which ran from 9 to 20 November, 382 staff and students participated. 273 of them said they were students, and they’re spread across all faculties. Men were overrepresented in the poll: 237 respondents said they identified themselves as male, 137 as female. This could mean that the poll turned out slightly more right-wing, as the men in this poll voted slightly more right-wing than women. Parties like the SGP and Forum are more likely to have voters with conviction and therefore probably come out slightly higher in this poll (as seen in the blue seat distribution in the graph) than you might expect. Employees are also slightly overrepresented: about a quarter of all respondents work at the university.
- At the bottom of this article you will find a justification and some comments on representativeness of the poll. ↩︎
