High drama and high waters continue to dominate the Dutch dailies. Tempers are also running high, as a police attacker gets off lightly and a former racing star nearly runs over a lady friend. The EU gets cross with Hungary and MPs are miffed as Big Brother producer stages a Eurovision takeover.

High waters and high drama for the Dutch
Today’s papers are once again awash with tales of high water, high winds and torrential rain. They devote pages and pages to the danger of flooding. But in a country where millions live below sea level it’s understandable.

De Volkskrant columnist Sheila Sitalsing notes that all other news “pales into insignificance when the water’s on its way.” She’s tickled by the proud claim that an inflatable rubber dam deployed to hold back the waves in one part of the country is the largest in the world.

“Of course we’ve got the biggest inflatable rubber dam in the world!” she exclaims. “Where else would they attach such value to having the biggest inflatable rubber dam of all time?”

De Telegraaf reports that the people of the northern Tolbert Petten polder were “living in fear” as they faced the prospect of “a nightmarish night-time evacuation”.

But it offers some hope for the future with news that “smart dykes are on their way” with “electronic chips and fibre-optic cables to ensure that water authorities are better prepared for problems”.

There’s more reassurance on Trouw’s front page. Beneath a half-page photograph of a waterlogged riverside scene, its headline insists “The Netherlands can cope with the rising water”. Let’s hope so!

Anger at light sentence for punching police
These days Dutch politicians like to talk tough about attacks on police and other public servants. So there’s plenty of indignation at the sentence of 20 hours of community service given to a lad accused of punching a policeman full in the face. AD’s front page reports that public prosecutors are now “eating humble pie” and admit they “underestimated the impact on society” and should have demanded a tougher punishment.

The paper reports that the offender is one of a group of local Utrecht troublemakers dubbed “the Untouchables” because they “believe themselves to be invincible” and “know exactly how far they can go” in provoking and abusing the authorities.

Labour MP Ahmed Marcouch gets all hot and bothered about the case. “You keep your hands off our police officers,” he insists in Trouw. He’s “astonished” at the mild sentence handed down to the 18-year-old offender. “I thought the law and order minister had tightened up his policy, but it seems his bold statements do not reflect reality.”

Ex racing star on crash course with the law
A Dutch sporting hero finds himself in trouble today. As AD puts it, former Formula One driver Jos Verstappen has gone “from the podium to the police cell”. He is accused of deliberately running into his ex-girlfriend with his van. She escaped with minor injuries, but tells De Telegraaf: “I could have been killed.”

Trouw comments that “the Netherlands' best ever Formula One racer” has “been in trouble before due to his hot-tempered character” and goes on to list a number of brawls and incidents involving domestic violence.
In AD, former colleagues confirm that the former racing star has a temper. “Jos is a racing driver. He doesn’t have the calm of a chess player. His adrenalin levels are high and he can respond emotionally.”

After a conviction in 2009 for threatening his wife and violating a restraining order, Verstappen is quoted as saying: “I think it would be best for me to disappear into anonymity.” The paper comments ruefully: “That isn’t working out too well for him.”

Hungary: the EU’s very own dictatorship?
The political situation in Hungary has many of the Dutch papers worried. De Volkskrant reports that socialists, liberals and greens in the European Parliament are calling for sanctions against the Hungarian government for “muzzling democracy” with “laws that restrict freedom of the media, and the independence of the national bank and the judiciary”.

Nrc.next devotes an entire page to the country’s leader Viktor Orbán and asks “Is this Europe’s new dictator?” beside a mocked-up postcard which reads “Greetings from Orbánistan”. It reports that tens of thousands of Hungarians demonstrated against the new laws this week, while prominent intellectuals brand the prime minister as “a provincial tyrant”.

But the paper also talks to László Marácz, a specialist in European Studies who rubbishes the idea that dictatorship is imminent. He argues that Orbán is not the “Viktator” he is cracked up to be and that his centre-right government is “simply trying to set things right after years of misrule”.

Big Brother picks song for Europe
Yesterday, the Netherlands revealed who will be battling it out to represent the country at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan. What’s the big deal, you might ask? Well, AD’s front page reveals that the Socialist Party is planning to ask questions in parliament about the selection process, which they regard as “unfair”.

Trouble is – five of the six candidates selected from almost 500 entries have appeared on or are connected to talent show The Voice of Holland, the flagship production of TV mogul John de Mol. He’s the man who gave the world Big Brother and he’s been brought in to revive the Netherlands flagging Eurovision fortunes by producing this year’s national selection.

Other showbiz names who submitted an entry are now grumbling that they’ve been misled and that the so-called open selection procedure was nothing but a farce. I feel their pain, but let’s face it – showbiz has never been known for its democratic principles and John de Mol has a point when he tells the paper: “Frankly I’m amazed that there are politicians who want to get involved in this issue when the country is in the throes of an economic crisis.”