The Socialist Party is doing very well in the opinion polls. If an election were to be held in the Netherlands now, we’re being told by the pollsters, the SP would be the biggest party in parliament.

Many of its recent gains have been at the expense of Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV) and the papers are full of his attack on the SP, delivered yesterday in a rare television interview. He described the SP as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” says de Volkskrant.

Wolf at the door
The paper goes on to explain that both the PVV and the SP are often described as populist, with common ground on social-economic policy and Europe. Mr Wilders, though, accused the SP of standing for “more immigration – just let anyone in”, being against tougher sentences for criminals, and pushing for a “federal Europe”.
 
De Volkskrant tells us the SP was quick to deny the accusations “with a mixture of incredulity, derision and indignation”. “Federal Europe? We were the driving force behind the ‘no’ against the European constitution”, was SP leader Emile Roemer’s response, referring to the Dutch referendum decision in 2005.
 
The SP says it’s obvious that Mr Wilders is being deserted by voters because of his support for the government’s policy of swingeing cuts.
 
Trouw agrees that Mr Wilders has “clearly been shocked” by the latest opinion polls. This is illustrated, it says, by the fact that he jumped at the chance to give a television interview (something he usually avoids doing).
 
The paper thinks he was wise to steer clear of making a personal attack (something he rarely avoids doing) against the increasingly popular Mr Roemer.

Coalition under threat
Meanwhile, AD’s top story highlights further trouble for Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party (PVV). It says the PVV’s agreement to support the minority coalition from the parliamentary benches is “about to be blown apart” courtesy of the EU.
 
European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has, according to AD, put an end to “the illusion” that the Netherlands can, in the short term, impose tougher regulations to make it more difficult for immigrants to come to the country to be reunited with their families.
 
The paper reminds us that toughening up these immigration rules is “the essential condition” being demanded by Mr Wilders for his support of further government cuts. More cuts are increasingly being seen by ministers as inevitable.

Homes – prices falling, taxes increasing
There are no political stories on the front page of today’s De Telegraaf. Instead we’re treated to another ‘doom-and-gloom-for-home-owners’ story. Despite falling house prices caused by stagnation in the market, official valuations given annually by local authorities are set to remain high, warns the paper.
 
This in turn means home owners will have little or no reduction in the amount of local tax they pay on their houses, despite that fact that the real estate is worth less than it was a year ago. This will prove “a bitter disappointment” to home owners, we are not really surprised to learn.
 
The first property valuations from Rotterdam City Council have apparently shown steep increases. An expert says he’s seen the official valuation of a house bought last year for just 80,000 euros when the official value was given as 154,000 euros. “Now, the letter [from the council] gives the value as 200,000 euros”, he tells the paper.

Mobile phone price war looms
Dutch telecom giant KPN is “wrestling with its reputation and bad performance figures”, says today’s nrc.next. With accusations of price fixing, illegal discounts, and the bugging of customers, KPN’s standing hasn’t got any better under its new boss Eelco Blok, complains the paper.
 
The company’s profits from operations in the Netherlands have also plummeted by 22 percent under Mr Blok, we are told. KPN customers have already had a taste of the CEO’s new regime, says the paper. Since September, they have had to pay more for using the internet via their mobile phones - and they’ve been leaving KPN in droves as a result.
 
But there may be hope for KPN on the way, thinks De Telegraaf, trailing the company’s fightback on its front page. KPN is apparently about to launch a price war, offering mobile phone users cheaper deals tailored to their needs. “The service and the speed have to be better,” acknowledges Mr Blok.

Sun’s spectacular light show
Finally, several of today’s papers run staggering pictures of Monday’s huge explosion on the surface of the sun.
 
De Volkskrant says the cloud of charged particles hurled into space as a result hit the earth yesterday evening. Despite being the largest such cloud since 2005, it wasn’t powerful enough to disrupt global satellite systems.
 
Trouw explains that the sun is going through a period of extraordinary activity and that the earth has been bombarded by unusually fierce solar energy for the last few days. The paper reminds us that the sun is due to reach the high point of its 11-year cycle of activity in 2013.
 
(mw/tt)