Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister formally designated yesterday as successor to Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of NATO, has the quality that Silvio Berlusconi considered fundamental for a leader in any field. That of being able to make oneself “concave and convex” depending on the interlocutors and the circumstances. It is no coincidence that “Mark Teflon”, as he was nicknamed due to his flexibility, was able to put together coalitions between different parties and lead the Amsterdam government for four terms and a total of 14 years. At the same time, however, Rutte has proven to be one of the toughest defenders of Europe and the Atlantic Alliance in the face of Putin’s imperialism and Russian aggression against Ukraine. The Netherlands sent Leopard tanks and F-16 fighters to Kiev without hesitation and with Rutte at the helm it exceeded the 2 percent of GDP in military spending requested by the US from its allies.
«SAFE ALLIANCE»
Becoming the helmsman of NATO at the age of 57 is “an immense honor”, commented on And he reiterated the mantra of all Atlanticists. «The Alliance is and will remain the cornerstone of our collective security. Leading this organization is a responsibility I do not take lightly.”
Rutte has always been President Biden’s first choice, yet one of his aces up his sleeve is that he has also managed to get along with Donald Trump. Taking NATO in hand in the middle of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and of the campaign for the White House with the possible victory of Trump who does not hide the temptation of American disengagement both from the Alliance and from Europe and from the confrontation with Russia, is a challenge that would make anyone’s wrists tremble. In Rutte’s past, there are many reasons for his harsh attitude towards Putin, not least a tragic episode, the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 plane by Russian separatists in Ukraine in 2014 with 196 Dutch people on board out of 298 passengers and crew members.
THE CHARACTER
The New York Times, outlining Rutte’s profile, recalls that seven months after the Russian invasion he said to the United Nations: «Putin will not stop Ukraine if we don’t stop him now. This war is bigger than Ukraine as such. It concerns the stability of international law.” And he described Putin as “glacial, brutal, ruthless.” He and Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister candidate to be the new High Representative of the EU and who was almost the only one to warn her colleagues by saying that Putin would order the invasion, are a unique, strong message towards the Tsar, and they mean that Europe and NATO will not surrender to Putin, they will continue to support Ukraine and Zelensky “as long as necessary”. The big countries have always agreed on the appointment of Rutte, who however had to overcome the obstacle of the Hungarian Orbán with the promise not to use Hungarian personnel or funds in military support for Kiev. At that point Slovakia’s distrust also disappeared.
As for Trump, the Dutch prime minister had already declared that he did not want to chase European speculation and complaints about his rise to the White House, instead inviting him to focus on the production of weapons and ammunition for Ukraine. «Mark is an authentic transatlanticist, a strong leader and a consensus builder, I leave NATO in good hands», declares Jens Stoltenberg, who already at the next summit on 9-11 July in Washington to focus on the Alliance’s strategy in Ukraine will have his successor at his side (whose term as prime minister will expire on July 2). The details of Rutte’s character, Nordic and Dutch, are also significant. He travels by bicycle (he can hardly continue to do so), in New York he goes on holiday every year in the same small hotel in Chinatown, and for the last thirty years he has lived in the same modest apartment with the same furniture.
INTERNATIONAL TRUST
Certificates of esteem and trust from all NATO leaders, from Biden (“Mark will be an excellent leader”) to Giorgia Meloni (“Italy is ready to work together with him and the allies in favor of peace and the safeguarding of freedom »). For Oana Lungescu, former NATO spokesperson, «like Stoltenberg, Rutte is a pragmatist and one of the few European politicians who have developed a good collaborative relationship not only with Biden, but with Trump. He will guide the Alliance with safe hands in times that are turbulent, as Stoltenberg has been over the past decade. Furthermore, as a veteran of European summits he will bring a different sensitivity to the complex relations between NATO and the EU, but he will also have to ensure that Europe strengthens its defense in a complementary way to NATO, without weakening it in a period that will be crucial ».
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