Van Agt regularly took time to withdraw, reflect, and come up with a plan for the future. There are the well-known anecdotes about chairing the Council of Ministers meetings, on Friday mornings in The Hague. Many a time Dries left this task to his deputy prime minister, while he still pottered around in the turret, barely awake and not quite ready for the day.
Apparently, it was what the prime minister needed: to take it easy and clear his head, after yet another long cabinet meeting, formal duties, and difficult negotiations with the Labour Party. Like him, we can all benefit from a moment of reflection, a breather, away from the daily hustle and bustle. Lifelong learning the Van Agt way: by taking a moment to reflect on ourselves, evaluate our knowledge and skills, and reassess our behaviour. By taking a walk on the heath, diving into a book, or sparring with your colleague. Away from your workplace.
I wish for everyone that they may find a place, engage in an activity, or discover a secret trail to escape for a moment the delusions of the day and the perceived urgency of our existence. Van Agt even escaped his own security guards on several occasions by disappearing on his racing bicycle through the city centre of The Hague: heading for the beach and the dunes to calm down and regain his composure. Also, at the time when his family was under security in Heilig Landstichting, he managed to escape from the guards by quickly cycling across the German border. He knew that his security guards were not allowed to cross the border with their weapons.
It would not be a bad idea for Radboud University to take a similar distance from itself. To go for a bike ride and from the top of the Sint Jansberg ponder what it is doing: trying to confront urgent and currently important problems. But are these also its longer-term challenges? Will today's dossiers point the way to solutions for the future?
Was Van Agt just a cheeky boy in a midlife crisis who no longer knew what to do with himself in his loneliness? Are we glorifying Van Agt's quirks? Because one should not speak ill of the dead? I don't think so. There is a reason he lived to be 93, and always retained his sharp mind. A true life-long learner. For Van Agt, values like ‘Freedom’ and ‘Autonomy’ were spelt with a capital letter: just look at the way he and his wife decided to step out of life together.
I wish us lots of cycling fun!
