Prime minister Mark Rutte was showing off Dutch art at the nuclear summit. But why is he killing it off at the same time? asks Farid Tabarki.

It is not true there is no accounting for taste. If that were the case, we would all be silent after a visit to the museum or the theatre. Discussing the merits or de-merits of something is part of the experience.

On then to the nuclear summit and its accompanying display of cultural highlights. The guests lapped it up and it was indeed splendid enough. Prime minister Mark Rutte managed to serve up a tasteful sample of Dutch culture. I don’t have any criticism in that respect. So why was I left with such a bad aftertaste?

It certainly wasn’t the opening ceremony, which featured Dutch violinist Svenia Staats, winner of the Princess Christina Competition in 2011, soprano Bernadetta Astari (Dutch Classical Talent Prize) and the dancers of Conny Janssen Danst, followed by a clip featuring DJ Hardwell. Was that the end of it? No. Rutte then had a photo-op in front of Rembrandt’s Nightwatch with the leader of the free west who remarked he had never held a press conference against such a beautiful background.

Gezellig

The following day the lot of them went to see Mondriaan’s Victory Boogie Woogie, the Nightwatch of the 20th century, and Barack Obama said he found it all ‘truly gezellig’.

Great! Cheese, clogs and Frau Antje, eat your heart out!  It’s Dutch art that’s our best export product. But why is our own prime minister pointing and preening when he cut back the support for the arts by €200m?

That is what left the bad aftertaste: the way he had of making strangulation look like a caress. It’s a bit like Geert Wilders applauding for a particularly good performance from a Maroccan-Dutch beauty on tv talent show Holland’s Got Talent five minutes after he’s led his voters in an anti-Moroccan chant.

Zwarte Piet

And then there was poor Zwarte Piet, defended by our prime minister as a cultural given. He could have left that bit out, especially considering his guests.

So there is such a thing as accounting for good taste after all, although I have to say that this perfectly organised summit with its Olympic Games-like splendour makes me wish for more of the same.

Farid Tabarki is the founder of Studio Zeitgeist and was trendwatcher of the year 2012-2013.

This article was published earlier in the Financieele Dagblad.