‘Hey yes, thought it would be good to have a little more delegation-wise to switch over what we can and especially cannot say about it when the plopkapplebs start talking about it. So if it fits? First the interests: perhaps good if you start with the reception of Afghan refugees and only then about the gas. In other words: the reverse order of importance. Yes, no, don’t say it, of course.’
(…)
‘That’s right, normally it is indeed in the summer, but because it gets to 50 degrees there, it is now, say, now. Not that that makes a difference, by the way, feel free to pack some shorts. But now about the noble art of self defence soon, against the bloodhounds of Heart of the Netherlands and BNR: I think it’s best if you keep coming back to the point that you can only discuss the whole human rights story when you’re somewhere. They will probably come up with China and Russia and all those other places where they still have money left over to organize a fun event, and where nothing has changed for the better since then. Then it is best to just repeat that you can only discuss the entire human rights story when you are there. Repetition is key. Hopefully they don’t start talking about telephones, or about the internet, so be a little convincing if you emphasize that you can only discuss the whole human rights story when you are there.’
(…)
‘6,500. Could be a few hundred off. Fifa says three. So you see. They will definitely go to questions. Just say: we come there for the Dutch national team, or something like that. Try not to sound too cheerful, even if you have to keep sports and sports stadiums created by slave labour, of course, strictly separated. Sorry? I don’t think they will bring up a boycott. Not against you. If that is the case, then it is important that you put on your done-business-no-turns-face: if we had this then, we might have now, and if we were with the whole EU at the time, it would have been been a different story. And no, that’s not hypocritical, not exactly, that’s just so cool about you! If principles aren’t your fortress, then being bona fide hypocrite is super hard! But the most important thing is: establishing that things are the way they are, that that’s not good, chatting, looking concerned and radiate that it won’t be up to you again. And with a bit of luck someone might even write something like ‘Welcome to the real world’ or ‘That too is geopolitical’, and then you seem like a realist and a strategist too.’
(…)
‘I think ‘dialogue’ is the best. More pleasant than ‘negotiation’. And leave ‘contracts’ for the time being just to be safe.’
(…)
‘Of course you respect the opinion of the House. I think we all respect the opinion of the House, that’s democracy, and democracy is beautiful. But there is also such a thing as the harsh reality. Moreover, that motion is one and a half years old, the world is now completely different. Anyway, a good one to remember: in principle everything changes all the time, so we might be able to do something with that.’
(…)
‘I’m afraid he wants to come with me again, yes. As long as he doesn’t make a toast.’