De kroonprins van Nieuw Links: Biografie van André van der Louw (1933-2005)

This biography outlines the life of André van der Louw (1933–2005). Van der Louw grew up in a simple social environment in The Hague. In his early years, he was active in the Arbeiders Jeugd Centrale (Workers' Youth Center). He worked for the socialist broadcasting station VARA and was editor of the controversial youth magazine Twen/Taboe (1960–1961) and Hitweek (1965–1969). In 1966, Van der Louw became one of the leaders of Nieuw Links, a movement of renewal within the PvdA. He was a talented, inspirational speaker, both charismatic and sociable. As chairman of the party (1971–1974), he unsuccessfully tried to merge the PvdA with other parties to form a broad progressive party. He became a popular mayor of Rotterdam (1974–1981) who aimed to narrow the gap between citizens and politicians through his approachability. His influence on the daily politics of the council was limited. With regard to the struggle for power in the PvdA and the political direction of the party, Van der Louw surrounded himself with people who shared his political ideas. His friends saw him as the future leader of the PvdA. When he became minister of Culture, Leisure, and Social Work in 1981, he hoped to increase his chances of becoming party leader. It went wrong. After the fall of the Van Agt–Den Uyl cabinet in 1982, he ended up being sidelined politically. His attempts to return to the political stage afterwards failed. As an administrator, he was past his heyday, too. He went on to hold positions as chairman of the Public Body Rijnmond (1983–1986) and chairman of the Dutch public broadcasting service NOS (1994–1997).