Heavy storms lead to drama at sea and threaten two Dutch traditions. A former policeman forgets what happened when he murdered a 12-year-old, while a Freedom Party MP seems to have forgotten other misdemeanours from his past. And will more women at work just leave us more stressed?

Drama at sea after towboat capsizes
Heavy storms resulted in drama yesterday evening when a towboat capsized in the Hook of Holland harbour, reports AD. The towboat was called out to help guide a Stenaline ferry into port. Just before the towboat, Fairplay 22, was tied to the ferry, it capsized.

The accident happened late in the afternoon and there were five men on board. A sixth crewmember, a trainee sailor, escaped the drama as he failed to turn up for work that day, writes the paper. Three of the crew were plucked from the heavy seas within 15 minutes, but the Belgian captain and a Polish machinist went missing. The machinist was probably in the engine room. The captain was on deck, but was sucked back into the boat by the force of the water. A trainee captain tried to hold onto him but was forced to let go.

A lifeboat towed the capsized vessel into calmer waters in the hope the two men might survive in an air bubble in the upturned boat, but there was no response to knocking signals. The Stenaline ferry, Britannica, managed to dock on time, and passengers were unaware of the drama that took place before the bows of their ship.

When the papers went to press, neither the captain nor the machinist had been found. Since then, a body - presumed to be the machinist - has been washed up on a nearby beach, and hopes are fading for the captain.

Former policeman forgets what he did to Milly
Nrc.next reports on the trial of the murderer of Milly Boele. The 12-year-old girl was murdered by a neighbour last March and buried in his garden. She was missing for a week before Sander V (surname withheld under Dutch law) gave himself up. He stands accused of sexual abuse, deprivation of liberty, and concealing a body according to the paper.

The defendant, a police officer at the time of the killing, appeared to have lost his memory. He recalls strangling the girl with his belt, but remembers few of the details he was able to give when initially interrogated by police. He denies raping her, although a minute amount of his sperm was found on her body, writes De Telegraaf. The mass circulation daily accuses Sander V. of “making excuses” for his actions: tension at work, rows with his girlfriend, drugs.

The paper describes the former policeman as narcissistic and vulnerable and addicted to cannabis. In the lead-up to the murder he had become more and more isolated. The day of the murder he reported sick, was agitated, and smoked 12 joints. When he heard Milly come home he lured her to his house saying he had found a cat; half an hour later she was dead. Sander V said in court that he was not a pervert, but was unable to explain why child pornography was found on his computer.

Will more women working more hours make society more stressed?
The question in parliament yesterday was how to get more women to work more hours. Trouw writes that Social Affairs and Employment Minister Henk Kamp thinks it is a “cultural problem that most Dutch women are satisfied to work just part-time”. With an aging population, the government wants more women to work full time. Not surprisingly, the smaller Christian parties want more financial advantages for stay-at-home mums, while the liberal parties want financial incentives to get women into the workplace. The left-wing opposition want to avoid a stressful society and want more flexibility in the workplace.

Nrc.next reports that the Netherlands Institute for Social Research says “the Dutch are under too much pressure”. A report by the institute reveals that over half the population between the ages of 25 and 60 regularly feel they are too busy. Women feel more pressure (60 percent) than men (52 percent).

It is no wonder they are so stressed: de Volkskrant reports that the Dutch spend more time travelling to and from work than anyone else in Europe. A report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development puts the figure at an average 50 minutes.

Logically, it is parents with children under 13 (“rush-hour families”) who feel most of the stress. So Trouw asks what is the answer? Only seven percent of parents say they would work more if crèches were open longer. Forty percent say flexible hours would make a difference to their work-life balance. Others suggest starting work an hour later, working from home one day a week, and longer opening hours for shops and municipal services. But is there a danger that society will just become more stressed by a 24-hour economy?

Coalition-threatening revelations?
More revelations about Freedom Party (PVV) MP Eric Lucassen’s past have come to light. De Volkskrant cites stories by Dutch commercial television station RTL that Lucassen was found guilty of a sexual offence by a military court in 2002. The former military instructor had a sexual relationship with two 17-year-old cadets. In the army, sexual relationships with subordinates are strictly forbidden. Yesterday, it was revealed that former neighbours had reported him to the police a number of times for intimidation and assualt.

AD reports that “accusations against the Freedom Party MP are piling up”. The paper has dug up more dirt on the parliamentarian. He reportedly beat up a barman for looking at his girlfriend. A former brother-in-law says he used to get into fights and vandalise cars in his younger years. Coffee shop customers where the MP used to go to smoke joints say he was agressive.

The continued revelations pose a problem for Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders, who gave the MP a stern scolding late into the night. He says he will “get to the bottom of the matter”. If he kicks him out of the party, the coalition supported by the Freedom Party loses its one seat parliamentary majority, but, if Mr Wilders doesn’t throw him out, it will be difficult to defend the image of the party, which claims to represent respectable, ordinary people, writes Trouw. Especially after the paper lists four other PVV MPs who have been reported to the police for assault in the past.

Storms threaten Dutch traditions
Storms across the Netherlands threatened two quaint Dutch traditions yesterday evening: St Maarten and the opening of the carnival season. On the name day of Saint Martinius, young children braved the strong winds, thrashing rain and even thunder and lightning to go house to house holding homemade lanterns and singing "St Maarten songs" in the hope of getting a few sweets. In many towns, traditional bonfires were cancelled writes de Volkskrant, but in Zaltbommel plans went ahead for a re-enactment the saint’s most famous good deed: cutting his cloak in two to share with a cold old man.

Meanwhile in Limburg, Trouw writes the carnival season kicked off in the provincial capital Maastricht. But the bad weather meant only half the expected revellers turned up. Nevertheless, a mighty 10,000 people in brightly coloured outrageous costumes turned out at eleven minutes past eleven on the eleventh of the eleventh. The number eleven is traditionally the number for fools and buffoons. So next year (2011), they will probably go absolutely mad, weather permitting.