The new cabinet is learning fast, but Minister Leers is “the weakest link”. The Dutch government announces additional repressive measures against juvenile delinquents. Job prospects for the over-55s are dire. Newspapers could be a thing of the past and the royals come in for criticism.

Immigration minister is “the weakest link”
Trouw writes “shadow deputy prime minister” Geert Wilders criticised Dutch Minister for immigration and asylum Gerd Leers for being “extremely weak” after Leers voted in favour of lifting visa obligations for Bosnians and Albanians visiting EU countries. The new cabinet opposed the measure but Leers voted in favour after demanding visas be reintroduced if there is a mass influx of Bosnians and Albanians. AD writes that Mr Wilders called Mr Leers “the weakest link in this cabinet”.
 
According to the protestant daily, the issue “illustrates the difficult position of Minister Leers”. If he doesn’t go far enough he has to contend with the anger of Mr Wilders and if he goes too far he has to deal with a hostile opposition as well as criticism from some Christian Democrat MPs.
 
But the paper reassures us the minister’s days are not yet numbered. Left-wing parties have agreed not to support any motion of no confidence unless mistakes are made and Mr Wilders is not likely to send the minister home just yet. De Volkskrant writes that the new cabinet is learning fast: the EU is a matter of give and take. Minor concessions are being made now so that later the main objective can be achieved: stricter asylum legislation.

Making trouble for trouble-makers
After announcing measures to ban delinquents from certain areas for up to two years, the new government is planning additional repressive measures to tackle youths who cause nuisance, but are not criminal enough to lock up.
 
AD reports trouble-makers between the ages of 12 and 22 could in future be required to spend the night in custody. Minister of Security and Justice Fred Teeven is drafting proposals to introduce night-time detention and “penal community service”. If he gets his way, young vandals and petty criminals could find themselves sweeping the streets straight after school and reporting to the police at bedtime.
 
Meanwhile, mass circulation De Telegraaf held a poll on plans to ban trouble-makers from certain areas. Fifty-five percent agreed that a ban would be pointless. The populist paper’s readers suggested zero-tolerance, community service, curfews for the under-16s and old-fashioned reform schools.
 
In AD,a Moroccan mother says, “Send them to Morocco for a Moroccan upbringing, and only let them back once they have demonstrated they have changed their ways.” The Mayor of Gouda, where Moroccan youths in one neighbourhood have become notorious trouble-makers, suggests exchanging anti-social families with other municipalities to give them a second chance. Any more bright ideas?

Prospects dire for unemployed over-55s
Trouw warns that the situation for unemployed over-55-year-olds is dire. The paper writes that it’s even more difficult for people in this age group to find work this year than it was last year at the height of the crisis.
 
These are the findings of an annual poll by the Council for Work and Income which is being presented at a congress today. Apparently only eight percent of older job seekers succeed in finding work.
 
Trouw writes the reality of the situation contrasts sharply with moves to raise the pension age to 66. The council is looking into how to improve opportunities on the employment market for older workers. Up to now the only thing they have come up with is “schooling, schooling, schooling”.
 
Meanwhile AD reports that government cuts in adult education could spur many people to drop out now that the over-30s will be expected to pay college fees. “Everyone used to be able to learn all their lives. Not any more.” 

Are newspapers a thing of the past?
Trendwatcher Ross Dawson thinks newspapers will soon be a thing of the past. According to Trouw, he predicts the end of the printed press in the United States by 2017, and in the Netherlands in 2027.
 
Apparently it is a favourite subject for bloggers on the internet. But communication professor Piet Bakker of the University of Amsterdam says Mr Dawson’s predictions are not based on data. Nevertheless, he calls it a miracle that newspapers still exist. In spite of 80 years of radio, 40 years of television and 20 years of internet there are still 9.4 million newspaper readers in the Netherlands.
 
A recent increase in circulation figures looks like a trend in the opposite direction, but newspaper editors should not start popping champagne corks too soon, as circulation figures for the national press have fallen by 13 percent over the last twenty years. The recent increase could just be a blip, down to clever marketing, tabloid formats and give-away goodies.
 
Newspapers have already cut costs by reducing the number of editorial staff. They could halve costs if they got rid of their paper editions and went digital, but then they would be forced to negotiate expensive licences with e-reader manufacturers. Nevertheless, NRC Handelsblad is planning to give its subscribers Ipads, even though, as the paper itself points out, it is unlikely that “a 70-year-old in Appelscha will be persuaded to use one”. Phew, so my job is safe. At least for now.

Willem-Alexander’s honeymoon under scrutiny
Dutch crown prince Willem-Alexander has come in for criticism about his choice of holiday according to de Volkskrant. The royal couple apparently spent a week of their honeymoon in 2002 on a yacht belonging to suspected fraudster.
 
The yacht ‘Blue Gold’ belongs to Joep van den Nieuwenhuyzen, a businessman accused of corruption. An NRC journalist revealed in his book Joep! From hero to prime suspect published on Tuesday, that the royals sailed along the Thai coast in the 50-metre luxury boat.
 
The book’s revelations have led to demands from the parliamentary opposition for an explanation. However, it doesn't look like the incident will lead to the end of the monarchy just yet. Socialist Party MP Ronald van Raak just says Willem-Alexander and Máxima should choose their friends “carefully”.