There are standing ovations at party congresses this weekend, teen solo sailor Laura Dekker completes her world voyage, dogs may be good for you but their poop isn’t, why cigarette lobbyists don’t want to say what is in cigarettes and a picture of Dutch society wins a major prize.

Two Dutch political parties in peril held their congresses this weekend. De Volkskrant writes, “For decades the Christian Democrats (CDA) and Labour Party formed the centre of power, but the middle ground they stand on is disappearing beneath their feet.” Both parties have seen their support plummet in recent years.

After two CDA conferences where the atmosphere could be cut with a knife, this congress was euphoric, de Volkskrant and Trouw agree. The young members of the strategic committee were given a standing ovation and there were lashings of praise for party chair person Ruth Peetoom. But as a member of the government coalition, the party has to steer a difficult course – it won’t be able to fully implement its softer image until the coalition’s term in office ends in 2014.

At the same time, there were standing ovations for Labour Party leader Job Cohen, who seems to have found the right words and the right tone. At last - the papers write. The popularity of the labour leader and former mayor of Amsterdam has been falling since he led the party in the 2010 election.

At the congress, Cohen launched a personal attack on Prime Minister Mark Rutte, calling on him to stand down and warning that the door would remain closed if the PM came knocking for support. But his formal performance was in sharp contrast to the relaxed style of the party’s new chairperson, former MP Hans Spekman. According to Trouw the latter “spoke from his – leftwing – heart”.

Meanwhile in the opinion polls, the Socialist Party has taken the lead, while the popularity of the Freedom Party is starting to decline.

Teenage solo sailor ends world voyage
Solo teenage sailor Laura Dekker has completed her voyage around the world. AD is the only Dutch daily to pay much attention to her feat. Dekker is the youngest person ever to have circumnavigated the globe, but she won’t be sailing into the record books. Trouw writes the Guinness book of records has decided to stop recording achievements in the youngest category to prevent children from taking on dangerous challenges.

The 16-year-old was met by a small flotilla of boats and hundreds of journalists from all over the world, as she sailed into port on the Dutch Antilles island of St Maarten after 516 days at sea. AD prints an exclusive interview of readers’ questions. The teenager was pleased to see her family, writes the paper, who were the first to sail out to greet her. She hadn’t seen her mother in a whole year. AD gives a rundown of headlines in the world’s press, which focus on her achievement in the light of her battle against the Dutch child welfare authorities which tried to prevent her setting sail at first because of her tender young age.

The legal wrangling has not ended for Laura, who is still obliged to follow compulsory education in the Netherlands. En route, she replaced the Dutch flag on her boat for a New Zealand one, writes Trouw. She will also move to her newfound home. On Twitter, the teenage sailor is criticised, but one person writes: “The sailor girl is leaving the Netherlands; this country is too small for her.”

Dogs are good for you, but not their poop
Dogs are good for you, according to nrc.next. Dog owners are healthier and live longer. In the first year of owning a dog, people lose 6.3 kilos, because it has to be let out three times a day. And owning a dog is good for developing children’s social skills.

But the downside is dogs cost their owners around 500 euros per year and collectively they produce a lot of dog poop in the Netherlands - 670,000 kilos a year. Most municipalities have a dog tax to pay for all the civil servants charged with dreaming up schemes to get rid of dog mess. Some local councils insist dog owners pick up after their dogs or keep them leashed.

However, in the northern city of Leeuwarden, the dog lobby seems to have the upper hand. The local council has allocated 40 areas where dogs can run loose and provided them with doggy dirt bins. In this city, dog tax money is only used for implementing dog policies.

However policy makers say the Netherlands needs a change in culture. Dog poop is not just a nuisance, it is a health hazard. Dogs can become infected with the dangerous parvovirus, which they can pass on to humans or cattle. Parvovirus eggs have been found in 10-30 percent of Dutch parks and even in 30-70 percent children’s sandpits. Dog policy-makers want to see dog owners who do not pick up after their pooch ostracised in the same way smokers are.

Why cigarette makers don’t come clean on ingredients
Talking about smokers, Trouw asks why cigarette manufacturers refuse to declare what ingredients are in a cigarette. Seventy delegates will meet in Geneva this week to determine what rules apply with regard to adding flavours. In the Netherlands, the industry has been obliged to say what is in a cigarette for years, but so far most manufacturers have declined to do so. They say competitors might steal their recipes. Trouw suspects there are other reasons behind their hesitance to come clean.

For instance, many cigarettes contain sugar. Completely harmless if ingested, but burning sugar releases high concentrations of hazardous by-products. There are 600 additives in tobacco: for instance, menthol makes smoking less rough on the throat and easier for beginners to take up. Some additives make cigarettes more addictive, others increase the chance of getting cancer.

The Dutch Economic Affairs Ministry joined Philip Morris’ opposition to a ban on additives in Brazil last year. After decades of denying any connection with health problems the manufacturers have changed strategy – now they want to sit at the table of policy-makers - they say “to help make decisions to protect health” – or are they just trying to protect their interests. For the last ten years, the tobacco lobby has worked incessantly to prevent any reduction of ingredients which make cigarettes more palatable.

"Picture of the Netherlands 2011” beats Mauro’s tear
De Volkskrant photographer Joost van den Broek has won the Zilveren Camera (Silver Camera) for the best domestic news photo of 2011. His picture shows a group of local residents crowded outside the house of paedophile Marthijn Uittenbogaard, who set up a website for paedophiles called Martijn. A young man plus a couple of others knock on the man’s window. The picture was chosen because it depicts “a crystal clear picture of the Netherlands in the year 2011”.

Second prize went to “Mauro’s tear”, a close up photo of a young Angolan asylum seeker’s face - his eyes shut as a single tear rolls down his face. The photo had been favourite to win. Mauro Manuel hit the headlines after the Immigration Minister Gerd Leers refused to grant him a residence permit after he turned 18.