The short TV series De deal is called a political thriller by its producers, and this is indeed an accurate description. How long does a politician serve? Answer: until he gets caught. This traditional wisdom is propagated in De deal, which on purpose avoids all surprising turns. In fact the charm of the series is its predictability. A freelance reporter infiltrates into an extremist nationalist political party (called Vrijheidspartij) in order to unmask its money-lenders. The party leader Wouters is an honest man: when he is bought, he stays bought. Much of the detective work consists of hacking into private digital networks. Since the narrative is located in the Netherlands, the shots provide some tourist information, such as the Dutch Congress buildings and the North-Sea dunes. Visit our hotels with a view on the sea. We hope you drop in. Some aspects of the story have a double meaning, which can only be appreciated by Dutch people. Namely, just after the millennium change the Netherlands was shook up by two political murders, the first once in centuries. It began when Pim Fortuijn, a rising political star on the extreme right wing, was shot during his campaign. And then Theo van Gogh, a controversial film producer, was stabbed to death and shot on top. These two outrages disturbed the traditional Dutch values and morals, which have as yet not been repaired. In particular, it ushered in a much more aggressive tone of political debate. As a result extremist and populist politics has become the subject of several Dutch productions: 0605 (made by Van Gogh himself, who was obviously furious!), De president, and Vox populi. They invite to reflect on the recent mishaps. For instance, some events in De deal are located at the Dutch Media Park, where Fortuijn was killed. Unfortunately the series gives a totally inaccurate impression of Dutch politics. For Wouters is accompanied by his own mercenaries, who kill at will. This is a total misconception of reality, since even the extremist Dutch politicians accept the democracy and abide by the law. They are the SUBJECT of attacks by mentally ill persons. In addition De deal describes how the prime minister uses the Dutch secret service in order to assassinate dissident people. I am glad to say that this is INCONCEIVABLE within the Dutch political and administrative culture. So De deal is more fantasy than fiction, which in my opinion reduces its impact. It is a political fairy tale. Some fairy tales do not start with "Once upon a time ...", but with "Vote for me and ...". However, if you are just looking for suspense, then De deal will probably please you. Like in most Dutch productions, although rare in Europe, English subtitles are included. Needless to say that I welcome comments.
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