Iranian hacking is putting the security of Dutch tax returns at risk. The latest Queen-hassler makes a bid for fame. Geert Wilders makes wild claims in Berlin. Villagers bid to oust their anti-euthanasia priest. And there’s woe for the SUV-driving wealthy of Het Gooi.

Tax hacked
“Government websites aren’t secure” report de Volkskrant and Trouw. “Hacked by Iranians,” explains nrc.next. “Iranian hack is an act of war” De Telegraaf weighs in. So what’s the story? A Dutch company DigiNotar, which issues internet security certificates, has been hacked. And the Dutch government is among its customers. This means that the hackers can get their hands on confidential information like tax returns.

Apparently the main reason for this hacking wasn’t to find out how much I earn. It seems the chief suspects, the Iranian authorities, were more interested in peering into the Gmails of Iranian dissidents.
Nevertheless, logging into the website of your local council is now “playing with fire”, Trouw concludes. “The internet is rocking on its foundations,” mourns de Volkskrant. “Internationally this could become an affair of unprecedented proportions,” adds De Telegraaf.

Interior Minister Piet Hein Donner promises to have the problem sorted out in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile he warns the Dutch public not to visit government websites or put in their tax returns (if you read De Telegraaf), and reassures us we can carry on using all government websites as normal (if you read de Volkskrant) – but just watch out if they look a bit fishy.

Route to fame: hassle the Queen?
“Fears for Beatrix.” Never mind internet security, it’s the Queen’s security De Telegraaf and AD are more worried about. The more serious papers give it a mention too, if you leaf through a bit. During a concert at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw attended by Queen Beatrix, a man climbed on stage and started making a speech. He was a “servant of Allah”, he told the audience, but not to worry, he didn’t have a bomb with him.

“Security experts and confidants are extremely concerned that, for the fourth time since 2009, Queen Beatrix has been confronted by attackers and unstable figures who were able to get close to her,” says De Telegraaf. AD takes the story back to 1966 and the riots at Beatrix’s wedding. Other papers stick to reminders of the recent incidents: the man who tragically tried to drive a car into the royal bus, the chap who threw a candle holder at the Queen’s coach, and the one who caused chaos by screaming during the minute’s silence on Remembrance Day in Dam Square, Amsterdam.

Incidentally, the ‘Dam screamer’ has plans to start blogging on his own website [http://damschreeuwer.yolasite.com/nieuws.php], we learn from AD. Perhaps hassling the Queen will prove to be a yet another route to celebrity status.

Wilders slams Europisation
“Europe is threatening national identity.” It’s de Volkskrant’s write-up of Geert Wilders’ speech in Berlin to his Freedom Party’s German baby brother, Die Freiheit. Last year all eyes were on Mr Wilders when he made a similar speech to his friends in Berlin, as it coincided with the final tricky negotiations to put together a cabinet with his backing. There were fears that a particularly flamboyant anti-Islam tirade could have set the cat among the pigeons. But it was ‘Europisation’ rather than ‘Islamisation’ that took the brunt of Mr Wilders’ attack this time, according to de Volkskrant.

As far as Trouw is concerned his most interesting remark was to claim that, thanks to his influence, immigration to the Netherlands from non-Western countries will fall by 50 percent. This should raise Immigration Minister Geert Dales’ eyebrows, says Trouw, as government documents show current policies are set to cut immigration by between 5 and 15 percent.

Village wants rid of anti-euthanasia priest
Churchgoers in the southern village of Liempde are fed up with their priest, Trouw, de Volkskrant and AD report. The row started when Father Norbert van der Sluis refused to conduct the funeral of a popular villager who had opted for euthanasia, says Trouw. “I don’t deny people the right to make their own choices,” the priest told AD. “But it’s my job to condemn the choices if they’re wrong.”

Apparently there’s more to it than that. It seems the locals just can’t stand him anyway. “That priest doesn’t fit in here,” they told AD. To be more specific, “he lacks social skills, is out of touch with the people and is behind the times,” de Volkskrant explains. The local church council has asked the diocese for a replacement. But the bishop is having none of it, says de Volkskrant. “He’s staying,” the bishop says. “We’re not a democracy.”

Super-rich suffering
De Telegraaf has a tale of woe from the Netherlands’ most notoriously well-heeled region, Het Gooi. “The people are suffering,” says the mayor of one of the country’s wealthiest towns, Laren. The economic crisis is hitting the rich where it hurts. Sadly the tensions caused by towering mortgages and negative equity are having a nasty effect. Reports of domestic violence are increasing.

“The SUV has to keep running, the children have to go the Laren Mixed Hockey Club,” says the mayor. “The people live behind a façade and they can’t cope anymore.” But in fact the hard times for the rich might not be a bad thing, he adds. “It’s having a sort of sobering effect that you might call healthy.”