Mariakaakje advice

Willem Drees, Dutch Prime Minister 1948–1958

The Mariakaakje consultation ( Mariakaakje-overleg ) is a modern legend in the Netherlands , which says that the modest apartment of Prime Minister Willem Drees made such an impression on an American diplomat that the country was favored by the Marshall Plan . Mariakaakje is a simple biscuit that the Prime Minister's wife served with tea.

The anecdote

In 1979, former Dutch Foreign Minister Joseph Luns told two journalists how the American diplomat Harriman had come to the Netherlands to negotiate with Prime Minister Drees about Marshall aid. Harriman had previously been to Italy, where he had been invited to a splendid banquet, and when he arrived in The Hague one Sunday, the (Social Democratic) Prime Minister had received him in his private apartment:

“U ziet de heren arriveren in de Beeklaan! Eenvoudige woning, in de gashaard twee van de vijf staafjes uit, mevrouw Drees presenteerde thee met een Mariakaakje en de heer Drees had een goed en zakelijk geprek. Daarop zei de heer Harriman tot zijn ambassadeur: 'Ik heb het al gezien. A land waarvan de premier in zulk een eenvoud leeft, is onze hulp waard. '”

“Imagine the gentlemen arriving in the Beeklaan! Simple apartment, two of the five burners in the gas stove, Mrs. Drees offers tea with a Mariakaakje , and Mr. Drees has a good and objective conversation. Then Mr. Harriman said to his ambassador: 'I am clear now. A country whose prime minister lives in such simplicity deserves our help. '"

The story has been told in numerous variations, in which the apartment became smaller and smaller and the Beeklaan became increasingly narrow for the limousine of the Americans, according to the historian Jelle Gaemers. Its popularity is explained by the fact that it creates a causal link between the Dutch living room and great politics.

exam

However, Gaemers points out the difficulties of substantiating the anecdote. The fact is that the journalists questioned the elderly former Prime Minister Drees after Luns. According to Drees, there was definitely a dinner to welcome the Americans, but they wanted to meet him in person beforehand, and since they arrived on a Sunday, he had to meet them at home.

W. Averell Harriman, American diplomat and later Governor of New York

Gaemers has identified two visits by American diplomats, which could match the reception in the Beeklaan, one in April 1949, the other in October 1950. In both cases, however, a visit to Drees' private apartment is not explicitly mentioned in the sources. and the diplomats were indeed received at great expense (including a banquet for two hundred guests).

A Dutchman who was present on the second visit reported the anecdote with the following final sentence: "In a country where the Prime Minister lives like this, our money is well spent." But this contemporary witness also brings some details into the anecdote that has been proven not true, like the contrasting visit to Italy before.

The Drees biographer Gaemers refuses to give the impression that Drees has - in a calculating way - constantly invited foreign guests to his home:

"If we wanted to erect a monument to the Dutchman to whom we owe the money, it would not be Ms. Drees with the Mariakaakje, but Spierenburg, the main Dutch negotiator in Paris."

Finnish anecdote

In contrast to a Finnish anecdote, the story of Drees and Mariakaakje is still good, says Gaemers. After all, Finland had not asked Marshall aid under Soviet pressure, but according to the anecdote she could have hoped for a lot of money.

When the American delegation drove through Finland, they saw a group of poodle-naked Finns come out of a small hut. The population is so poor that they cannot afford clothes, they need Marshall aid all the more urgently. The Finnish companions would have wisely not explained that it was a group of sauna-goers.

literature

• Jelle Gaemers: Diplomacy van de eenvoud. In: Bob de Graaf / Duco Hellema (ed.): Instruments van buitenlandse politiek. Achtergronden en Praktijk van de Nederlandse diplomatie , Boom: Amsterdam 2007, pp. 260–267.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jelle Gaemers: Diplomacy van de eenvoud. In: Bob de Graaf, Duco Hellema (ed.): Instruments van buitenlandse politiek. Achtergronden en Praktijk van de Nederlandse diplomatie , Boom: Amsterdam 2007, pp. 260–267, here p. 260.
2. ↑ Some examples on the internet: canon  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , geschiedenis.nl , Dreesmuseum.nl ( Memento of the original dated August 11, 2002 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , all last viewed on August 4, 2008.   
3. ↑ Quoted from Jelle Gaemers: Diplomatie van de eenvoud. In: Bob de Graaf / Duco Hellema (ed.): Instruments van buitenlandse politiek. Achtergronden en Praktijk van de Nederlandse diplomatie , Boom: Amsterdam 2007, pp. 260–267, here p. 261.
4. ↑ Quoted from Jelle Gaemers: Diplomatie van de eenvoud. In: Bob de Graaf / Duco Hellema (ed.): Instruments van buitenlandse politiek. Achtergronden en Praktijk van de Nederlandse diplomatie , Boom: Amsterdam 2007, pp. 260–267, here p. 263.
5. ↑ Quoted from Jelle Gaemers: Diplomatie van de eenvoud. In: Bob de Graaf / Duco Hellema (ed.): Instruments van buitenlandse politiek. Achtergronden en Praktijk van de Nederlandse diplomatie , Boom: Amsterdam 2007, pp. 260–267, here p. 264.
6. ↑ Quoted from Jelle Gaemers: Diplomatie van de eenvoud. In: Bob de Graaf / Duco Hellema (ed.): Instruments van buitenlandse politiek. Achtergronden en Praktijk van de Nederlandse diplomatie , Boom: Amsterdam 2007, pp. 260–267, here p. 266. Original: "Zouden we een standbeeld willen oprichten voor de Nederlander aan like we dat geld mede te thank you, then it is niet mevrouw Drees met een mariakaakje, maar Spierenburg, de voornaamste Nederlandse onderhandelaar in Parijs. "
7. ↑ Quoted from Jelle Gaemers: Diplomatie van de eenvoud. In: Bob de Graaf / Duco Hellema (ed.): Instruments van buitenlandse politiek. Achtergronden en Praktijk van de Nederlandse diplomatie , Boom: Amsterdam 2007, pp. 260–267, here p. 266.