Wim Kok

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HILVERSUM Wim Kok moet zich komend jaar opnieuw beschikbaar stellen voor het premierschap.Dat zegt bondskanselier Schröder van Duitsland vandaag in een interview met het Algemeen Dagblad. Volgens Schröder zal Kok in de Europese raad van regeringsleiders een leegte achterlaten die moeilijk te vullen zal zijn."Kok heeft een vooruitziende blik en is sensibel als het gaat om sociale en economische onderwerpen." Verder beschikt de Nederlandse premier over een enorme ervaring.Zijn afscheid zou de Raad armer maken,aldus Schröder, die erkent dat Kok zelf een besluit moet nemen en geen advies nodig heeft.

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Een van de grote staatsmannen van deze eeuw.

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Op vrijdag 08 juni 2001 23:16 schreef Hummerr het volgende:

[..]

Ach ga toch weg!

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dream on

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Op zaterdag 09 juni 2001 10:06 schreef 100% Tukker het volgende:
Ik wil eerst mijn kwartje terug van Wim en daarna mag hij zichzelf tegen een betonnen brugpijler krullen met z'n Mercedes SL500...

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Oke, hij is wat saai, geen smeuige affaires á la Clinton, maar zit ik daar op te wachten?

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knap dat je dat na 1 1/2 jaar al kan zeggen, trouwens

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In 1999 gekozen tot internationaal staatsman van het jaar:

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CLASS OF '99
This is the second edition of World Link's Dream Cabinet, a selection of politicians from across the globe, drawn from provincial, national and supranational administrations that stand out as honest, effective leaders in the often muddied world of politics. Among this year's cabinet nominees are a number of instantly recognisable names as well as some more obscure ones. For though appearing in headlines may make for better press, it does not necessarily make for better government.

For that reason World Link has sought out not only the newsworthy from the past 12 months but also the unsung, as it is they that are often the most impressive. Not everyone, for example, will be able to place Wim Kok (our choice for chief executive) right away, but then, he would probably prefer it that way. The Dutch prime minister, unlike some of his European contemporaries is decidedly low-key in his approach to governing but highly effective all the same.

No names have reappeared from last year's list ­ a sign of how hard it can be to stay on top in politics. Last year's chief executive Tony Blair has had something of a mixed bag in 1999. His hawkish stance during the war in Kosovo was a gamble that paid dividends for his stature as an international statesman. But while the Conservative party's tailspin has only served to help the fortunes of Labour under Blair, inevitable comparisons to Tory sleaze were made when two Labour cabinet members resigned amid scandal within a month earlier this year. A poor showing at the European Parliament elections was something of an embarassment for Labour, and of late, attacks on the party for a lack of tolerance in its policymaking have dented Labour's message of liberal-minded concern.

Last year's runner-up for the position of chief executive, Iranian president Mohammed Khatami, has also had a difficult year. A crackdown by police and hardline clerics over the issue of free speech in July ended in a number of deaths and marked an intensification of the struggle between Khatami's reforming bloc and Muslim authoritarian forces. Things may well get worse for Khatami in the run-up to next February's parliamentary elections before they get better.

"Politics is not an exact science," wrote Bismarck, but it is certainly an exacting one. Hugo Miller profiles 12 that have proved they are up to the demands of the job ­ and more.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

WINNER

WIM KOK

THE NETHERLANDS

While Tony Blair and Gerhard Schröder bang on about the Third Way, perhaps the closest anyone has come to making the concept a reality is the abruptly named Dutch prime minister, Wim Kok.

He may be quieter than his Berlin and London rivals, but in a classically understated Dutch way, is getting the job done. The job in this case is managing a lean, efficient economy while still nurturing the strong social market for which 1990s-era Netherlands has become synonymous.

"Kok has a terrific track record as both a trade union leader and then as a prime minister," says Victor Halberstadt, professor of economics at the Leiden University and an acquaintance of the Dutch PM. "A very solid prime minister," he adds.

Solid may not win you any personality polls but Wim Kok looks more like the real thing: a social democrat who delivers on his promises.

Kok's style is not high-profile and in that sense, numbers rather than words are fitting praise. In the five years since Kok took power, more than 500,000 jobs have been created in the Netherlands ­ bringing unemployment down to US-like levels of 5%.

His re-election in 1998 to a second four-year term and his ability to hold together the so-called purple coalition ­ it draws from across the "blue" and "red" elements of the Dutch political spectrum ­ at the same time has won him points from pundits. Others applaud him for his smooth handling of the Dutch presidency of the EU, which culminated with the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998.

In a moment at the Amsterdam summit, inspired by a combination of Dutch habit and his trademark no-frills approach to politics, Kok laid on bikes for the various attending ministers to get from venue to venue.

Although few took him up on the offer, beyond a well-rehearsed photoshoot of bicycling ministers, the gesture speaks volumes of Kok's approach to political life.

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