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What makes this early backlash notable is that it's coming despite the coalition's stated focus on supporting businesses. D66, VVD, and CDA ministers built their agreement around billions in funding for nitrogen reduction and new housing, even as tax hikes and spending cuts land mostly on workers, healthcare, and social security budgets.
Entrepreneurs Want Stability, Not Surprises
A spokesperson for MKB-Nederland, the organization representing small and medium-sized businesses, summed up the frustration simply: companies need predictable policy, and that's been missing for years now. The current cabinet, the spokesperson noted, came in with solid intentions for the business climate, but those promises haven't translated into anything entrepreneurs can actually feel yet.
Beyond the overall dissatisfaction score, business owners pointed to a few recurring frustrations: too many regulations to wade through, decisions that take too long to materialize, and a general sense that government policy shifts unpredictably from one moment to the next.
Mixed Views on Spending, Strong Support for Benefit Cuts
Interestingly, entrepreneurs aren't simply anti-cuts across the board. When asked what they'd prefer, 45 percent leaned toward more government investment, while only 18 percent wanted further budget tightening. Yet at the same time, a clear majority back the specific cuts being proposed for disability benefits (65 percent) and unemployment benefits (64 percent). They're also firmly opposed, 64 percent, to the public transport strikes that unions have organized in protest of these very cuts.
The survey was conducted by Ipsos I&O among 550 business owners, most of them running small or medium-sized companies.
The same research project also checked in with everyday voters, and the mood there isn't much rosier: 70 percent say they're dissatisfied with the cabinet. Voters are notably less enthusiastic about the benefit cuts themselves, with only 47 percent supporting disability benefit reductions and just 36 percent backing unemployment benefit cuts. Opinion on the strikes is far more split among the public, too, with 33 percent opposed and 35 percent in favor.
