Finally, after what seems like an endless campaign, it's time for the voters to have their say and elect local councillors for the coming four years. However, as soon as the votes have been counted, politicians will be back out on the campaign trail for the national elections.

Election day, but will anyone bother to vote?
All of the papers cover today's municipal elections and the upcoming general election, but local concerns seem to have disappeared under the weight of national politics. "Local issues buried," headlines de Volkskrant on its front page. De Telegraaf's front page headline reads, "Demise of cabinet dominates local elections," adding in smaller letters, "local poll generates very little enthusiasm".

Voter apathy and the widening gulf between voters and politicians are a major concern for political parties and several papers report on various strategies employed to lure people into the voting booths; AD reports that Groningen, The Hague and Rotterdam opened a number of polling stations at midnight in an attempt to persuade young people to vote.

Trouw reports that municipal authorities in Appingedam opted for a different strategy: every hundredth voter will be given a cherry pie. The baker says he is certain that people will vote to get a pie, " I've been telling all my customers to stand next to the person counting the voters, and when they get to 99, push to the front of the queue".

Clearly Appingedam is aping a certain French queen* who said, "let them eat cake," however, it didn't turn out very well for her.

*Just before the French Revolution, peasants complained that they did not have any bread. In response, Marie Antoinette is alleged to have said, "let them eat cake". She lost her head on the guillotine.

Balkenende rules out coalition with Labour
The upcoming general election generates almost as many column inches as today's local elections: Trouw leads with "Balkenende rules out another coalition with Labour," AD has virtually the same headline and de Volkskrant writes "Christian Democrats reject idea of sitting in same cabinet with Labour.

Outgoing Prime Minister and CDA leader Jan Peter Balkenende was interviewed on TV yesterday and AD quotes him as saying, "Our credibility would be damaged by forming another coalition with Wouter Bos and the Labour Party. The electorate would not understand it."

NRC.next also covers Mr Balkenende's appearance on the programme Moral Crusader, but lays the emphasis elsewhere: "after the general election I will be available for the post of prime minister, nothing else," the CDA leader is quoted is saying.

National Head Lice Day
Not only is it municipal election day, but by some very peculiar coincidence - I swear I'm not making it up - it's also National Head Lice Day. Next to a rather scary-looking electron microscope image of a bloodsucking louse, Trouw reports that if the National Head Lice Association has its way, "the Netherlands will be louse-free today".

AD also covers the event, noting "240,000 primary school students report head lice every year". The populist tabloid also prints a handy guide to getting rid of head lice and details of the life cycle of the itchy little bloodsuckers.

Frankenfries? GM potatoes coming to the Netherlands
Today's de Volkskrant reports that the European Commission yesterday voted in favour of allowing genetically-modified potatoes to be grown in the EU. The left-wing paper writes that the Public Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner says the "genetically-modified Amflora potato developed by the German chemical giant BASF, is safe".

The paper also reports "the Amflora potato is not for human consumption, but will be used in paper production and as a cattle feed additive". Genetically-modified crops are extremely controversial in the European Union and are popularly known as "Frankenfood'.

"GM potato coming to the Netherlands soon," headlines Trouw and reports that outgoing Agriculture Minister Gerda Verburg was delighted with the ruling, "GM is a development that we cannot and indeed should not reject".

Olympians get heroes’ welcome
The Dutch Olympic team came home yesterday and several papers carry photographs and reports on the welcome home party held in Haarlem. "Thousands wait for glimpse of Olympic team," writes Trouw, under a photo of Dutch snowboarder Nicolien Sauerbreij hanging out of the cockpit of a jumbo jet waving a Dutch flag. The paper reports that one fan carried a sign that sums it all up very nicely: "We're proud of you".