A fifth study on purchasing power and uncertainty about household expenses found that people may be earning more while feeling financially poorer, according to Reinier Castelein, president of the trade union The Union. He attributed the insecurity among many middle-class households to uncertainty about fixed costs and government policy, including political changes involving box 3, mortgage-interest deductions, energy bills and petrol prices.

Castelein said respondents gave political volatility a score of 4.3 for gross incompetence. The findings were discussed in an issue of Centen and in an interview with Martin Visser.