Ronald van Raak

Documentary about whistleblower Frits Veerman, who in the 1970s exposed the nuclear espionage at Urenco in which his Pakistani colleague Abdul Khan smuggled nuclear data out of the country. He was fired and fought for 40 years for rehabilitation. Frans Bromet examines the moral compass of the headstrong whistleblower in the politically shadowy and high-profile espionage scandal. Bromet wants to understand what underlies years of backroom politics, an intelligence agency that refuses to grant access to the file, and international interests that apparently prevail over the protection of an observant citizen by his government. The fact that the Dutch State takes no responsibility in this matter weighs heavily, literally and figuratively, on Veerman. The threat of a nuclear bomb remains real. Will a potential rehabilitation offer the satisfaction he has been waiting for forty years?

Spring 2012: the SP is doing better than ever in the polls. The party stands at well over thirty seats. With that, Emile Roemer could very well become the new Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Director Coen Verbraak approaches the SP leader with the proposal to follow him as he prepares for the elections, which are likely to come in a year or two. Roemer says ‘yes’. For these could be historic times, both for his party and for the Netherlands. Two days after that meeting, the first Rutte cabinet falls, and everything accelerates rapidly. This documentary meticulously shows what happens from that moment on.