Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte marks 100 days in power today. The coalition between his free-market liberals and the Christian Democrats, supported by Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party, promised to usher in a new era of right-wing government.

Mark Rutte said supporters of the right would “lick their lips” in anticipation of his plans. He promised to be bold and decisive, to practice a different, more honest, kind of politics.

“This cabinet has the ambition to bring the Netherlands out of the crisis even stronger than before. And also to make this a country where a promise is a promise, where we not only set limits, but maintain them.”

But has Mark Rutte kept his promises? What has his government achieved so far?

So far, so good
The cabinet hit the ground running with a number of practical measures. The smoking ban for small pubs and cafes was quickly lifted, and the police were told to stop setting monthly quotas for how many tickets each officer should give out. The speed limit on some highways will be raised to 130 kilometres per hour (up from 120), but that has yet to be implemented.

Rutte’s cabinet will make widespread budget cuts to tackle the financial crisis and other policy changes are now making their way through the legislative process.

Trust is up
Public trust in the government has risen during the first 100 days, in contrast to the last government, when public trust fell in the same period. This is even more of an achievement given the controversy during the formation of the cabinet over Geert Wilders’ central role in ensuring a parliamentary majority.

A poll carried out by the current affairs programme EenVandaag says people value three things about this government: ministers speak in a clear, understandable manner, the cabinet is seen as decisive, and people like Mark Rutte’s personal style.

Too much too fast?
So far, so good. In terms of his public image, Mark Rutte has done well in his first hundred days. But University of Leiden Political Science professor Henk Dekker warns that the government could prove to be over-ambitious, wanting to do too much, too fast.

“It has a kind of Botox character. A Botox PR cabinet. The PR is so good, but there’s a feeling that it’s too much. The government has to watch out that once they have earned people’s trust, people still need to see that they mean what they say, and will really follow through.”

Tough image
After a sampling among members of parliament, most agree that 100 days is too soon to judge how the cabinet is doing. But even among opposition parties, MPs admit that this cabinet seems to be willing to roll up its sleeves and tackle tough problems.

Joel Voordewind is an MP for the opposition Christian Union party.

“I’m not very happy with the tough and heavy attitude of this cabinet, but you do see they have an attitude of go on board, and get into the action.”

Friend or foe?
Traditionally it’s the task of the opposition to try and limit how much a government can actually accomplish. But in this case, the opposition will likely have an occasional interest in supporting the cabinet, especially when the cabinet wants help on one of the opposition’s pet projects. And, because Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party doesn’t support all coalition policy, these opportunities will certainly be available.

In fact, the first such moment will come up next week, when parliament will vote on a police training mission to Afghanistan. Rutte’s in favour, Wilders isn’t. And Joel Voordewind’s Christian Union party is considering supporting the mission – so, the man who doesn’t like the “heavy attitude of this cabinet”, might just find his party helping Rutte keep one of his promises.

First test
The first 100 days of a Dutch cabinet tend to be more important for image-making than actual governing. The real benchmark will come six weeks from now, when the Netherlands will elect new Provincial Assemblies, and indirectly, a new Senate. Only then will it be clear if the New Right has staying power, or if it might just be blown away on the next gust of the political winds.