Mark Rutte, outgoing liberal prime minister of the Netherlands, has waged the most international — and personal — election campaign of his career in the last seven months. He will be the next secretary general of NATO when the war in Ukraine remains open on the border of the Atlantic Alliance. And when there is a possibility that Donald Trump could be re-elected president of the United States next November, and he encourages the lack of protection of countries that do not invest 2% of their GDP in defense. The 57-year-old veteran politician has headed four consecutive Dutch governments since 2010 and knows the workings of the European Council in depth. Starting next fall, when he is expected to succeed the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, Rutte will have to apply himself thoroughly in the search for political consensus among the 32 NATO allies, a skill recognized even by his rivals.
He will be the fourth Dutch Secretary General of NATO, a position preceded by Dirk Stikker (1961-1964), Joseph Luns (1971-1984) and Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (2004-2009). However, just three years ago it seemed unlikely that the position would again fall to a politician from the Netherlands, a country that was spending below 2% of GDP on defense. That was the goal set at the 2014 summit by NATO members, and the Dutch Government has reached the figure this year. Rutte will come to office at a time when the war in Ukraine may undermine consensus in the organization, and with the debate on European defense in the bedroom.
Rutte is a political survivor. To reach the final stretch in the race for NATO leadership, he has also needed his best convincing skills: without falling into humiliation, either his own or that of his interlocutor. He has had to win over the Baltic countries, Turkey and Viktor Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister. The latter obtained from Stoltenberg that Hungary does not participate in NATO activities on behalf of Ukraine. Orbán demanded an apology for his criticism of Hungarian legislation on homosexuality. The result has been a letter in which the Dutchman says he has taken note of the fact that some of his comments from 2021 “have caused discontent in Hungary.” His “priority,” he stressed, “will be to maintain unity and treat all allies with the same level of understanding and respect.” A purpose that may well serve as a declaration of intent for the work that awaits you.
Graduate in History and amateur pianist
A graduate in History and an amateur pianist who has been in politics since his youth, Rutte personifies outside the Netherlands the image of a modest politician who lives in his usual apartment in The Hague, has not changed his old Saab car and rides his bike to work. In the latter he is no different from other politicians in his country, little given to the display of perks.
He handles jokes about being single well, and there have been unexpected moments that have gone viral. Like when she picked up, mop in hand, the puddle of coffee she had spilled at the entrance to Parliament to the applause of the cleaning staff. Less well known is her weekly lunch with the elderly mother of a friend, who lives in her own building. A leak in this neighbor’s kitchen ended up staining the politician’s suits, downstairs. On an official visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, she took him to his favorite Indonesian restaurant, an unpretentious establishment. The photo of both also went viral on social networks.
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Rutte caused unrest in Spain and Italy until the Netherlands eased the conditions for access to the eurozone rescue fund in 2020 due to the pandemic. Despite this criticism he received from southern Europe, his truly international profile began to take shape in July 2014. He then had to face the tragedy of flight MH17, shot down over Ukraine by a Russian-made missile, according to an international investigation. The plane had taken off from Amsterdam bound for Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and its 298 occupants perished. Of these, 196 were Dutch. The other turning point was the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Rutte’s international concerns grew into the ambition needed to head NATO.
The still acting prime minister has to his credit having won four consecutive general elections since 2010. In January 2021, he resigned along with his Government due to a family allowance scandal, which unfairly accused thousands of parents of fraud, mostly of immigrant origin. Rutte was part of the hard line of the Executive, whose attempt to avoid scams ended in the recognition that there was “institutional discrimination.” The fall of his last Cabinet, in July 2023 due to internal dissension on asylum policy, was especially harsh and has given rise to all kinds of speculation. During the euro crisis, the Government led by Rutte led the group of the toughest countries that demanded adjustment measures from the southern European countries in crisis.
Petra de Koning, author of a biography about the Dutch politician, admits that she does not know if Rutte “had already planned to try for a NATO candidacy.” “Few people should know if he had already decided. What has been known for a long time is that it would be his last period as prime minister. With or without crisis,” she explains by phone. “The VVD [su Partido Popular por la Libertad y la Democracia] “I thought they needed someone else, and it had already been mentioned that someone should replace him.” “The president of the United States, Joe Biden, asked him twice to say yes to the NATO position, and it has taken so long that Washington could well have changed its mind,” says the author.
In July 2023, when he left the head of the Government, Rutte assured that he planned to continue teaching only because he already teaches classes at a Vocational Training school. “She has been realizing that she could be influential, and the war in Ukraine has been a decisive factor,” says De Koning. The Netherlands is one of the European countries that has shown the most support for kyiv, to which is added the good personal relations between Rutte and the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
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