In their blazing, pamphleteer documentary What ‘s Left – The Mess of theLeft (BNNVARA), this Thursday on NPO 2, writer-columnist Johan Fretz anddocumentary maker Juul Op den Kamp show the demise of the Labor Party. Theonce great workers’ party, which has plummeted over the years from more thanfifty to a meager nine parliamentary seats, has, according to them, renouncedthe social-democratic ideal by converting to neoliberalism, or at the veryleast by giving it a helping hand. grant.
The Netherlands is becoming increasingly right-wing – why make a film aboutwhat’s wrong with a moribund left-wing party?
Fretz: “The film is not intended to further break down the PvdA, it was bornout of a warm heart for social democracy. Juul and I both come from a LaborParty nest. And with that love comes justified anger and disappointment at itsloss. The story of a left-wing power party drifting so far from its corevalues – I think it will definitely be an eye opener for millennials andzoomers.”
Op den Kamp: “This is intended for them. It’s a whodunnit popcorn movie aboutthe decline of social democracy. It makes sense to make something about whatthe right has done, but far fewer people know what the left’s part has been init.”
Fretz: „VVD members believe that the government is not responsible for, forexample, homelessness, the housing crisis, poverty. They carry out what theystand for, so that’s not very interesting for a movie. That the PvdA alsofacilitated the demolition, that is the story.”
Why so devastating? Only six minutes before the end, there is some hope on thehorizon.
Op den Kamp: “In order to know how things can be done differently, you firsthave to know how we ended up here.”
Fretz: „It does contain some tirades from me, but we present it with a lot ofhumor and self-mockery, and above all involvement. Some see harsh criticism ascynicism, or annoying yelling. But that fire is a sign that we care.”
Op den Kamp: “The team that made this film is furious about how things aregoing in the Netherlands, and we used that as fuel to make the film. Takingaction because you are concerned can never be cynical. Cynical is doingnothing. We end with hope and combativeness. The aim of the film is to moveviewers. We see the ideal of social democracy blossoming again among youngpeople.”
Three former party leaders speak, but they say little. What is the addedvalue?
Fretz: “They do say something, and sometimes saying nothing is also revealing.This is a movie, no news hour. There is something smooth and inscrutableabout Wouter Bos, but that ambivalence also makes him mysterious, which isgood for the film.
Op den Kamp: „Diederik Samsom kept on avoiding, and eventually came up with:who did something wrong, it doesn’t matter, because we live in a beautifulcountry after all. That was exactly where we wanted to go. Because that’s whatpoliticians say, but it’s not true. The evasive interview gives structure tothe film.”
Fretz: „Job Cohen is the only one who dares to say: it was three timesnothing, the Rutte II cabinet, and we have done things that were reallyunacceptable. In this way he gives our film much more weight. If I say so, itmay not impress. But the older nestor says so himself.”
Former PvdA leader Ad Melkert has not spoken to you, but his classicconfrontation with Pim Fortuyn in 2002 is included. Was that the beginning ofthe end of the Labor Party?
Fretz: “I think so. After that, the charisma of Wouter Bos kept the partygoing for a while. But the Fortuyn revolt brought out the rot. In that debate,Fortuyn provides a correct socio-economic analysis of the decline of hospitalsdue to economies of scale and privatisation. And Melkert doesn’t respond tothat, because he knows it’s true.”
In addition to the PvdA, left-wing parties such as the SP, GroenLinks and Bij1have emerged. Why did you not include them in the analysis?
Op den Kamp: “They are included, but we wanted to focus on the PvdA because itis the only left-wing party that has had government power for the past fortyyears.”
Fretz: “We also wanted to keep it personal: I come from a PvdA nest, in thefilm we see the leaders I voted for.”
Op den Kamp: “Johan’s personal story is important to take viewers along. He isthe poster boy of social mobility: he comes from a poor family, went to study,became a writer and theater maker. A child of social democracy. But the roadhe has traveled is no longer self-evident for children. The power of film isthat you can identify with Johan and through his story realize how muchinfluence politics has on a person’s life.”
What is the way out for the PvdA? To cancel? merge?
Fretz: “Merging makes little sense if you don’t first consider what you standfor. We especially want to start the conversation about the foundation. Theparty must first return to the core values as formulated by former leaderJoop de Uyl in the 1970s: more equal distribution of knowledge, power andincome. It is essential to make it clear that the class struggle and theemancipation struggle are not opposites, but always go hand in hand.”
What ‘s Left (BNNVARA), Thursday on NPO2, 22u29. And on NPO Start.