Having just been told that the economy was picking up, today’s papers break the news that the latest official figures show we’re doing worse than our neighbours. Trouw reports that, in the second quarter of this year, both France and Germany showed economic growth of 0.3 percent while the Netherlands was still in recession to the tune of 0.9 percent.

The paper thinks this is down to French and German government measures to stimulate their economies. It points out too that the Netherlands is a trading nation, with much of its business relying on goods produced elsewhere. This means major production economies such as Germany will have to recover before we can.

De Volkskrant is also gloomy, informing us that recent official Dutch predictions of growth in 2010 take for granted that world trade will recover quicker than initially expected. However, the paper believes present growth is due to companies having to restock and that this is providing only a temporary upturn.

“There comes a time when the consumer will have to take over and start buying goods, but the question remains whether this will happen given rising unemployment. The recovery will be slow and extremely fragile,” an economist warns.

Regional community hit by suicides
“Around here, we don’t talk about our problems” is an inside headline in today’s nrc.next. The paper says that could be one reason why there are so many suicides in the West Friesland region of North Holland - that and drugs and alcohol.

The area has a suicide rate three times the national average. In less than a year, three local young people have killed themselves. The latest appeared to be happy: he was studying maths in Amsterdam, did lots of sport and had lots of friends. He threw himself under a train last week.

A psychologist tells us that young people can seem happy “on the outside but can feel dark or lonely inside”. Underage drinking is seen as tough by the local community and parents turn a blind eye. However, the expert points out that alcohol “actually makes feelings of depression worse”.

Drugs, also readily available, are blamed too, as is the local culture of ‘cut the crap and get down to work’. The psychologist again: “They find it hard to deal with dark emotions […] so these are suppressed. This can sometimes lead to a kind of emotional deafness.”

School security under fire
Today’s AD fails to surprise us with a front-page headline, “Parents want safer playgrounds” (presumably for their children). The paper reports research showing that almost 50 percent of parents think people up to no good can gain access to primary school playgrounds too easily. More than 50 percent of parents say the school buildings themselves also lack proper security.

A researcher explains: “Many playgrounds are not fenced in. Anybody can walk there; it’s difficult for schools to keep tabs on it.” Traffic around schools also worries parents, who don’t like their children cycling or walking to school as a result. However, that particular problem appears to be caused for the most part by parents themselves, dropping off and picking their kids up.

Call for ban on night sky lanterns
The fire service is apparently calling for a ban on sky lanterns. De Telegraaf says the craze for the flame-powered paper lanterns at weddings and birthdays represents a fire risk for buildings and woods. Low flying lanterns can also be a motoring hazard, distracting drivers from the road.

“The lanterns are made of flimsy materials at the mercy of the weather. This means they can easily be blown onto objects,” says a fire service spokesman, urging people to use their common sense. “But these lanterns are usually set off at parties. The question is whether people have much common sense after a drink.”

Dutch navy causes splash in Spain
Finally, the AD sports a front-page photo of Spanish police looking angry on a beach, to a backdrop of bemused holidaymakers and a rubber speedboat. “Dutch navy a menace to seaside in Spain,” reads the headline.

Seven Dutch, five Belgian and three British members of a NATO squadron spent a free day racing four rubber boats and a water scooter for two hours off a beach in northern Spain. Holidaymakers were terrorised by the shenanigans, while orders from local police to stop were ignored.

A local government spokesman fills the AD in: “Some of them were drunk,” he complains. A major diplomatic incident was only averted when four NATO commanders offered abject apologies at the local town hall, promising to discipline the men. No more splicing the main brace for them.