Mark Rutte has officially taken the reins of NATO. The handover with the outgoing Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, took place today (1 October) at the headquarters of the Atlantic Alliance in Brussels, during a meeting of the Atlantic Council, the political body that brings together the ambassadors of the member countries. The 65-year-old Stoltenberg opened the meeting and the 57-year-old Rutte closed it.
“He has the qualities and experience to do his job excellently,” the outgoing Secretary said in his last press conference in the role he held for 10 years. The two know each other well because as prime minister Rutte represented the Netherlands at the top of NATO for the last 14 years, but he also had relations with Stoltenberg when the latter was prime minister of Norway before taking up his position at the Alliance.
Mark Rutte at the helm of NATO: what are the challenges he will have to face
Here Rutte is known as the ‘frugal’, the man who promised his supporters not to give more money to Italians. In his country he is instead known as “Teflon Mark”, for his ability to never be affected by scandals, which, like a non-stick pan, never stick to him.
Trump priorities and risk
Rutte has already indicated the three priorities of his four-year mandate: support for Ukraine, “the top priority”, strengthening “our collective defense” and, finally, the development of the international partnerships that NATO has already established with third countries . But above all with regards to support for Ukraine and defense spending, NATO’s eyes are focused on the United States, where a victory for Donald Trump in next November’s elections could dramatically change the balance and line of the Alliance.
“I’m not worried. I know both candidates very well and have worked with Donald Trump for four years,” Rutte said. The Dutchman has met Donald Trump on several occasions and stood up to him in a meeting in Washington in 2018. He also won his trust by recognizing that he was right to underline the need for greater burden-sharing within NATO among Americans and Europeans, even earning the nickname ‘Trump whisperer‘, the whisperer in Trump’s ear, for his ability to have excellent relations even with the quarrelsome ex-president.
Russia’s opponent
The liberal Rutte was one of the main proponents of European support for Ukraine in the war against Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The Dutch government gave Kiev 2.63 billion euros in military aid and promised another 2 billion for 2024. “Ukraine must win this battle. For their security and for ours,” he said. Former leader of the popular VVD, ‘Teflon Mark’ was among those who pushed hardest for Kiev to be supplied with F-16 fighter jets, a decision described by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as “historic” during a trip to the countries Bass.
Rutte’s aversion to Putin’s Russia dates back to 2014, when an airliner was shot down over Ukraine, an attack that Amsterdam blames on Moscow-backed separatists, which left 298 people dead, including 196 Dutch. The war “will not stop in Ukraine if we don’t stop it now. This war is bigger than Ukraine itself. This is about upholding the international rule of law,” he told the United Nations in September 2022, seven months after the beginning of the invasion.
US ally
Among the first to support Rutte’s candidacy to lead NATO were Joe Biden’s United States, to which the future Secretary General has repeatedly demonstrated that he is a faithful ally. And it did so even to the detriment of its own economy. Like when he agreed to follow Washington in limiting the sale of advanced semiconductors and chip-making equipment to China. A terrible decision for the business of the Dutch company Asml Holding NV, producer of the most advanced chip lithography systems in the world, and which had 15% of its turnover in the Asian giant.
The frugal
In Europe Rutte is instead known for his rigid positions on public finances. Those of his country but also those of other member states, especially Mediterranean ones such as Italy. His intransigence led him to become the leader of the so-called ‘frugal’ group, the supporters of austerity, even beating Germany. He once showed up at the EU budget negotiations with a biography of Frédéric Chopin to get through the night because “what else is there to do”, he said contemptuously, making it clear that he would not give an inch on his positions.
Chancellor Angela Merkel was also reportedly annoyed by his behavior. But in fact in this way Rutte managed to give small Holland, a country of only 17 million inhabitants, a greater role than it had in the past. The only excessive public spending he admitted was on defence, which under his leadership in Holland exceeded the 2% target prescribed by NATO.
Simple lifestyle
And with these positions he also managed to maintain the consensus of his population, becoming the prime minister who remained in office the longest: 14 years. During the pandemic he was among the last to impose restrictive measures in Europe, initially relying almost exclusively on the discipline of the Dutch.
They have also always liked the lifestyle of this 57-year-old, unmarried man, known for going to work by bicycle (or driving an old Saab when he’s in a hurry) and who usually arrives at the European Councils in Brussels by walking from his hotel, and not in a blue car like everyone else. Rutte shops at the supermarket alone and lives in the same area of The Hague where he grew up, in a house he bought with friends when he was a student. Habits of a truly ‘frugal’ person, but which he will probably have to abandon as Secretary General of NATO.
