While former Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) said goodbye to the Torentje in The Hague three months ago, he can now call himself Secretary General of NATO. Although, according to former defense minister Henk Kamp (VVD), he previously had little interest in defense, Rutte is “really ready for that position at the moment”.
Rutte takes office in turbulent times. The world stage is under tension due to various conflicts. EU correspondent for De Telegraaf Alexander Bakker expects that the war in Ukraine will demand the most attention at this time. “But also the situation in the Middle East, in which Iran is involved. Iran also supplies weapons to Russia that are used against Ukraine. And we will soon have the American presidential elections in November.”
Rutte will soon have to express NATO’s position, says Bakker. According to Kamp, Rutte will have to ensure that NATO forms a “credible counterforce against Putin”. “I think it is very important that NATO is a deterrent to Russia. That there will be no attack from Russia on NATO member states, because it is afraid of what NATO will do.”
Lack of vision?
Critics emphasize that Rutte mainly lacks vision. Kamp, on the other hand, does not expect any problems, because Rutte must promote the NATO vision. “That’s 32 countries and you all stand for one. So if a country is attacked, you all defend it,” says the former minister in three of Rutte’s cabinets.
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“The second part is that there is a connection between the US and Europe. That is the core of safety here in Europe,” says Kamp. “The third is that you must all contribute to a strong military force. This means that you have to invest a considerable percentage of the gross national product (2 percent, ed.) in defense. These are the important pillars of NATO. That is also Rutte’s vision.”
Although Rutte had little interest in defense in the beginning, according to Kamp, that has changed in his fourteen years as prime minister. Kamp cites the MH17 disaster, the invasion of Ukraine and the uncertainty in the Baltic states due to Russia as examples. “He has now developed a great sense of defense. At this point he is really ready for that position.”
Trump als president?
With all the threats in the foreground, Rutte must also keep the 32 NATO countries on board. With the chance that former President Donald Trump will return to the White House, tensions within the alliance are flaring. Trump is outspokenly critical of NATO.
According to WNL political reporter Tessa van Viegen, Rutte can hold his own. “We have previously seen during a press conference with Trump that he said something that Rutte did not agree with. Then Rutte simply said ‘no’. He made it clear that he had his hand in the pie and would not let anyone walk all over him.”
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Christian Union MP Pieter Grinwis also thinks that Rutte is “the right man in the right place”. “With all that experience in coalition politics with minorities in the Netherlands, he is the ideal person to arrange this in Brussels when it concerns 32 allies. And if an American president is possibly elected, that will bring a lot of complexity.”
Rutte has now been appointed as Secretary General for four years. “But knowing Rutte, that will take longer,” says Kamp. “Stoltenberg was there for ten years. If Rutte goes for something, you can’t just get rid of him.”
Sober ceremony
Rutte’s appointment as Jens Stoltenberg’s successor at NATO is a sober ceremony, says Bakker. “It starts with a wreath laying to commemorate the soldiers who died during NATO missions. Rutte will do this together with the outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Then there are a lot of speeches.”
The official transfer of power takes place during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s political governing body. “After that, Rutte can call himself secretary general and his first press conference will be held.”
‘Ukraine must join quickly’
During his first meeting with the 32 NATO ambassadors, Rutte said that Ukraine must quickly become a member of NATO. “Ukraine belongs in NATO,” he said. During the meeting, Rutte was officially handed the gavel by his predecessor Stoltenberg.
“There can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine,” Rutte emphasized. “I know from personal experience with the downing of flight MH17 in 2014 that the conflict in Ukraine is not limited to the front lines. So we have to do our part. We must deliver on the package agreed at the Washington summit.”
That summit was in July. There, the allies agreed, among other things, that an irreversible path has been taken towards Ukrainian membership of NATO.
Also read:
The pitfalls of new NATO chief Mark Rutte: ‘Be careful that he does not become the lapdog of Harris or Trump’
By: Matthijs Meulblok
