It is 1979. The Netherlands houses the NATO summit in a conference center in Noordwijkerhout that has been converted into a fortress. Inside, as a very young VARA radio reporter, I interview the secretary-general. He was not charmed by my appearance: long hair, beard, denim suit and worn-out shoes. The flabby questioning for that time also did not contribute to the good atmosphere. Afterwards, Joseph Luns looked at me intently. “May I ask, do you still crawl a lot?”
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A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper on July 15, 2023.