Mark Rutte, Dutch Prime Minister, British favorite to lead NATO
The Dutch prime minister, already considered the favorite to lead NATO, has a strong ally: the United Kingdom on Thursday pledged its public support to Mark Rutte to succeed Jens Stoltenberg in this crucial position in the midst of the war in Ukraine. The current Secretary General was appointed to his office for another year in the summer of 2023 because no agreement could be reached on a new personality. The Norwegian then led this organization for ten years, marked by increasing tensions with Russia.
The name of the resigning Dutch head of government, who is responsible for current affairs, has been circulating as a successor for months. It now has the “strong” official support of a founding member of the Atlantic Alliance. “We want a strong candidate,” said a spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “Rutte is highly respected within the alliance, he has serious credentials in the areas of defense and security and he will ensure that the alliance remains strong and ready to provide defense and deterrence,” he explained, praising the “leadership” of Jens Stoltenberg for nine years. The United States has not yet made clear who it is supporting.
He has been Liberal Prime Minister since 2010 and announced his intention to leave the Dutch political scene, but will remain in office until a new government is formed. Since the November elections were won by the far right, negotiations have struggled to succeed. Mark Rutte, 57, regularly attends European meetings and has been able to build relationships with a number of executives. He also met regularly with former US President Donald Trump, whom he did not shy away from publicly contradicting during a visit to the White House.
The criteria mentioned by NATO also include sufficient commitment to defense in the candidates' country of origin. Member States have committed to devoting 2% of their gross domestic product to this, a target which the Netherlands is very close to, thanks in particular to Mr Rutte's action. NATO diplomats argue that if Donald Trump returns to the presidency of the United States, it will be crucial to address this issue. He had repeatedly asked the allies to increase their defense spending, otherwise the USA would cut theirs or even leave the alliance.
The Dutchman's supporters are finally realizing that he is aware of the Russian threat after having to deal with the crisis caused by the launch of what an international investigation concluded was a Russian missile that downed a commercial airliner over Ukraine in 2014, resulting in fatalities of 197 Dutch citizens.