The Netherlands has had a week in Texas, between matches in Dallas and Houston, and one of the leading members of its government delegation has been using the time to conduct old-school diplomacy.
In Houston, Mirjam Sterk — who has an expansive portfolio of a minister for long-term care, youth and sport — has visited dementia researchers at Texas Medical Center, among other stops, spoke to the CEO of an LGBTQ+ community center and played wheelchair basketball at a community center for kids with disabilities.
Sterk, who hails from the center-right Christian Democratic Appeal in the Dutch coalition, said she’s counting on the famous fan walk that Dutch fans are expected to conduct en route to their match today against Sweden to build bridges in an unstable world. Speaking to POLITICO by phone, Sterk said she’s found plenty of like-minded people at Houston’s fan festival, among other destinations.
“It’s a great example of how sports in this world, which is, of course, polarized with all this tension … between countries, can unite,” Sterk said. “It’s also a sort of language we speak with each other that helps, I think, also in dealing with all these other challenges.”
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