The Freedom Party (PVV) has again increased in popularity. The weekly opinion poll taken by Maurice de Hond indicates the anti-Islam party would win 29 of the 150 seats in the Dutch Lower House if an election were to be held now.

The PVV has an agreement to support the minority centre-right government from parliament on most issues. Its good showing follows a week of debate on the raising of Dutch guarantees to the euro emergency fund to which the populist PVV is radically opposed.

The two parties in the governing minority coalition, the conservative VVD and the CDA Christian Democrats, both support strengthening the fund. The opinion poll shows them each dropping one seat compared to last week.

Despite a week in which Labour (PvdA) leader Job Cohen faced criticism about his alleged lacklustre performance, his social democratic PvdA remains at the same level of popularity as last week - the equivalent of 16 seats.

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