Toespraak minister-president bij diner in teken van Frans-Nederlandse relaties en lancering Cercle Polder

Toespraak | 21-11-2023

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the Netherlands we often look to the French as an example to be followed.
You have brought us many good things: the pencil sharpener, the metric system and pasteurisation.
And that makes us keen to do something in return.
When President Macron visited the Netherlands recently, I personally hoped that he might acquire a taste for Dutch cooking.
But given the reputation of French cuisine, perhaps it won’t be taking your country by storm.

More widely acclaimed is one of our other achievements: the ‘polder model’.
I’m proud that our efforts to promote this model have been so successful, that this event has been named after it.

As is often the case with success stories: the polder model has many architects.
It has its roots in the Low Countries of the Middle Ages.
But the polder model as we know it today, is also a French invention.
It was the idea of a Catholic nobleman, Louis de Bonald.
At the start of the French Revolution, de Bonald was optimistic about all the changes taking place, but his optimism soon turned into fear that they would lead to anarchy.
He advocated a system in which employers and employees would hold consultations, in a spirit of solidarity, in order to prevent conflict.
A system we know today as the polder model.

Two centuries later, we’ve forgotten the role played by Louis de Bonald, and think of the polder model as a typically Dutch phenomenon.
To me, that says a lot about the ability of the Dutch to recognise a good idea when they see one, and use it to their advantage.

Lately, people in the Netherlands have been saying that the polder model doesn’t work anymore.
Especially when times are tough.
But if we look around, we see that nothing could be further from the truth.
The polder model is in use everywhere in our country.
In politics and government.
In business.
In the cultural sector.
And the fact that we’re all here, having dinner together this evening, is the clearest proof that the polder model is alive and well.
Not only within the Netherlands, but in our ties with France too.
That must be thanks to those shared origins.

In recent years, our two countries have come together more and more often.
We’ve become key partners, bilaterally and within the EU, working together on the major issues of our time.
Security, the energy transition, innovation, climate change and migration.
And in a time of shifting geopolitical realities and war on the European continent, our partnership has proven highly valuable.

A crowning moment in relations between our countries came earlier this year, with a state visit by President Macron to the Netherlands, followed by government consultations.
I remember that the location for those consultations was proof of our friendship: the Gallery of Honour at the Rijksmuseum.
There, we held our talks under the watchful eye of Marten and Oopjen: the two portraits by Rembrandt which the Netherlands and France bought together. They are displayed in turn at the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre.
The joint investment in these two masterpieces not only shows the value both our countries attach to art and culture.
It also shows the depth of our mutual trust.

That trust, that will to connect, is the biggest driver of our successful partnership.
It’s also the basis for this evening’s gathering.
The Netherlands and France have a lot to offer each other.
And each and every one of you contributes to that in your own field.
This evening is an opportunity to share ideas, enhance each other’s views and strengthen our close ties.
And of course, we can spend a pleasant evening debating who first thought of the polder model.
But we’ll probably come to the conclusion that we all contributed to its success.
Each in our own way and in our own time.
A conclusion that captures the very essence of the polder model.

I wish you all an inspiring evening!