Johan Remkes will receive the Machiavelli Prize 2022 today. This was announced by the Machiavelli Foundation. The prize is awarded annually for a remarkable achievement in the field of public communication.
“With a sharp eye for content and at the same time a warm feeling for the present sentiment he manages to bind people and get them moving,” according to the jury report. It focuses on his approach to the 2022 nitrogen crisis. “The Remkes factor, which is about communication,” the jury report continues. “Johan Remkes connects parties and knows how to restart a stalled dialogue. With an eye for the differences between the frames of mind in political The Hague and the daily practice of farmers.”
“Clear language and a down-to-earth attitude. Sending with authority, but also receiving. Knowing when to talk, to listen and when to be silent. All this has been crucial in pulling the nitrogen file out of the doldrums. And to give desperate farmers a little perspective and confidence again.”
Marja Wagenaar, chair of Stichting Machiavelli, will present the award this afternoon at Press Center Nieuwspoort (The Hague). It is the 34th time that the prize will be awarded. The award ceremony is open to everyone who registers and can also be followed live on our website from 5 p.m. onwards.
Previous award winners have included Gerrit Hiemstra, Marion Koopmans and Diederik Gommers, Elliot Higgins of journalism collective Bellingcat, “the endangered mayor” Jos Wienen, SheDecides, the Dutch Safety Board, RTL Netherlands, Mayor Eberhard van der Laan, Bauke Vaatstra, H.R.H. Princess Máxima, national coach Bert van Marwijk and investigative journalist Jeroen Smit.
Admiral Rob Bauer,chairman of the NATO Military Committee, will deliver the annual Machiavelli lecture prior to the award ceremony, entitled: “Keeping peace means preparing for war.”
