The title says it all: this is a love letter. Or rather, it is an invitation to a former colleague who has found herself in a grim situation: her partner passed away recently and there are small children involved. The fist-person narrator – the writer of this letter – invites her to come from The Hague to Friesland. Embedded in a warm social structure, she would be able to find refuge there from the suffering that had befallen her.

The letter is a loving invitation to a fellow human in need, but also an ode to the province of Friesland. And more than that: an ode to the ideas of the politician Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis (1846-1919): socialist, anti-militarist, anarchist and leader of the Friese Volkspartij (Frisian People's Party).

Oeds Westerhof provides a detailed account of how the Frisians treat each other, how they organise themselves and how national politics could (or should?) take a leaf out of their book. Humans, he seems to say, are made to care for each other; to love each other. And that is precisely what Domela Nieuwenhuis stood for. The question is: how can we make that possible (politically) in this day and age?

Like the playing of an accordionist, his plea shifts back and forth between the personal and the political. From the tradition of milking ducks (community life with social cohesion, craftsmanship and equality as anchor points), the principles of social democracy are addressed as the letter unfolds. Then the letter refocuses on the family of the first-person narrator, village life, and how the fire brigade and the ice skating event the Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour) are organised. “We’re not so keen on centralised authority here in Friesland.” And then the focus switches back to a problem analysis of the Dutch tax system, the housing market, leadership and fascism. In this way, the ‘small’ is constantly linked to the ‘big’. And all of that is based on the idea of ‘the commons’: communal tools that are available (or should be available) to everyone within a society.

In the final chapter, the former colleague answers. She accepts the offer and comes to Friesland. With a boldness typical of a resident from the Randstad conurbation, she summarises the letter into a political party programme and proposes a house swap: the letter writer can come to live in The Hague, where he will immediately become prime minister, of course. The photoshoot and personal trainer have already been booked.

As far as I know, Oeds Westerhof is not currently a politician. He is, however, the director of the Academy of Theatre and Dance (ATD). Anyone who would like to learn more about his guiding principles – his ‘party programme love for life’ – should definitely read this book.

Berthe Spoelstra is Artistic Direcotor of the study programme Theatre Directing at the ATD.