Former top civil servant Hans Borstlap, abortion pirate Rebecca Gomperts, and dinner with Gerda Verburg
In 2020, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world for her fight to give women all over the world access to safe and legal abortion. It took her to Guinea, Mexico and America. But there is still a whole world to be won in the Netherlands, she says. 'Abortion should be removed from the Criminal Code. I just don't see this government doing that.'
Hans Borstlap also notes a lack of political decisiveness. The 78-year-old former top civil servant particularly criticizes the experimental nature of this extra-parliamentary cabinet. 'Parliament dictates almost down to a technical level what the cabinet must do. I find it unheard of. We are waiting for a minister who says: I am quitting, because I cannot fulfill my responsibility this way.'
It is precisely for this reason that former Minister of Agriculture Gerda Verburg would not start a new ministry, she says during a dinner. 'The party leaders call the shots. As a minister, you can sign on the dotted line.' Yet she is back in The Hague, as the figurehead of the oil and gas lobby. To the dissatisfaction of several nephews and nieces, who bombard her with sustainable ideas. 'Bring it on. That keeps me sharp.'
Enjoy reading and have a nice Sunday.
The Schoof cabinet is not only 'chaotic', but is also 'held hostage' by a motley crew of stakeholders, such as farmers, environmental groups, unions and the wealthy. Former top civil servant Hans Borstlap does not mince his words. 'It is really very worrying.'
Whether she was not the prime ministerial candidate of the BBB, former Minister of Agriculture Gerda Verburg was asked when she returned to the Netherlands after a career at the UN. She was not. She became the figurehead of the oil and gas industry, a choice that did not immediately go down well with her young nephews and nieces. 'Well, great, Aunt Gerda.'
Denmark seemingly has an age-old antidote to short-termism in business. At multinationals like Carlsberg, Lego and Maersk, the majority shareholder is not a profit-driven investor, but a philanthropic fund. Yet the powerful parent foundation of pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is increasingly being criticized.
After 25 turbulent years of providing women with abortion pills by boat, drone and mail, Dutch doctor and Women on Waves founder Rebecca Gomperts is now developing a new contraceptive. 'It's incredible how the female body is controlled.'
The nature of the shareholders' meeting is changing. What used to be a gathering for older men, AGMs are increasingly becoming a gathering place for activists. Result: more security and digital meetings.
Nobody trades like the largest farm trader in the Netherlands, Theo Wijntjes. There is no trace of him on the internet, but in the countryside everyone knows where to find him. He owes his position partly to financing from Rabobank, which does not seem to take it too seriously with its own rules to accommodate him.
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