The new head of NATO Mark Rutte is not a visionary, nor can he captivate with fiery speeches. On the other hand, he is a master of compromise, who knows how to balance different interests and get out of any crisis.
"We, the countries of the Alliance, must spend more on defense, we must increase our collective security," said the new NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, upon his inauguration. Taking over from Jens Stoltenberg, the new head of the Alliance identified support for Ukraine and containment of Russia as his main priorities.
And only a year ago, at the beginning of July 2023, Rütte had decided to throw everything away. "I am retiring from politics," he said after spending 13 years as prime minister in the Netherlands – the longest tenure of a prime minister in the country of 17 million people. What made him?
The right-liberal Party of Freedom and Democracy (VVD), led by Rutte, found his refugee policy too soft and the government coalition fell apart. This led to elections that were won by the right-wing populist Geert Wilders. It was probably the biggest political defeat in the life of Rutte, who resigned as prime minister on July 2, 2023, but continued to govern ex officio due to the complicated process of forming a government in the Netherlands.
A very brief political retreat
But as early as last October, 57-year-old Mark Rutte, who is a historian by education, already forgot that he wanted to retire from politics and made it clear that he was aiming for the highest post in NATO. For months, he conducted a discreet election campaign among the heads of state and government, whom he has known for a long time from the meetings of various international bodies. And eventually managed to convince most allies – as a consistent supporter of transatlantic cooperation and an ardent supporter of Ukraine.
The persuasion of his main European enemy, Viktor Orbán, took a little longer. Mark Rutte had to promise the Hungarian Prime Minister that during his mandate, Hungary would not have to participate in Alliance actions outside NATO territory. Orban, who sympathizes with Russia, firmly ruled out arms deliveries. The liberal Dutch and the illiberal Hungarian have clashed more than once within the EU. In 2021, Rutte publicly threatened Orbán that if he did not like the EU, he could leave the Community. It was then that Orbán passed a law against the LGBTI community in Hungary.
With a bicycle and a piano
Mark Ruete is known for his good humor and witty remarks. In The Hague, he cycles the distance from his home to his official residence. He once became famous for playing the piano in the center of The Hague.
As Secretary General of NATO, he will have to show more restraint and diplomacy, because his main task will be to balance the opposing interests of the 32 countries of the Alliance and to present them as one to the outside world. His predecessor, the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, was a master of stoicism. "Don't deviate from your message", was the recipe for his communication success.
Master of crisis resolution
"True management requires the ability to listen to and understand different perspectives," Rutte once said in one of his speeches. This would be a suitable motto for the leadership position in NATO. "He is a real master at resolving crises," says journalist Sheila Sittalzing, author of his biography, about Mark Ruete. "But everything was done without passion and conviction,", writes Sheila Seetalzing in her book.
Many Dutch people have long been satisfied with the stability that Mark Rutte has ensured - despite changes in coalition majorities during the financial crisis and the pandemic. However, some small scandals affected his image and he earned the nickname "Teflon Mark" in the Netherlands.
His relationship with Trump
On his inauguration, Mark Rutte said he would be able to work with whoever wins the US presidential election - whether it's Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. He called Harris a highly respected politician with a fantastic record as vice president and recalled that he had already worked with Trump during his presidency.
And indeed: the Dutchman established a surprisingly good relationship with Donald Trump at the time, and Trump himself even considers him a friend, although the liberal former prime minister of the Netherlands came out strongly against the economic policy of the Republican.
However, Mark Rutte, unlike Trump, supported the supply of arms to Ukraine and even provided howitzers and fighter jets from the arsenal of the Dutch army. During his 13-year rule, the country was not in the best financial position - only this year the Netherlands for the first time met the NATO target of providing 2 percent of GDP to defense.
Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has treated Rutte with mistrust and dislike for years - in the context of the fact that Russia is most likely responsible for the downing of the MH-17 aircraft over eastern Ukraine in 2014. The Malaysian Airlines plane was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. 300 people died, most of them Dutch.
He is not a visionary
As one European diplomat says, Mark Rutte is often called "Mr. No" in the EU. He does not have big reform plans and visions like Emmanuel Macron. But he gets along well with the rather cool German Chancellor Scholz, as well as with the right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Together, they support the practice of moving asylum procedures outside the EU.
Mark Ruete is in politics something like the famous illusionist Houdini, according to his biographer Sheila Sittalzing. It is as a magician that Rutte manages to get out of every crisis - and this ability could definitely be useful to him in his new post as NATO Secretary General.