The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)

NATO’S new boss: Affable, pragmatic and ready for Trump, if required

MARK RUTTE rode off into the sunset on his bicycle last week, making a carefully choreograp­hed exit from Dutch politics, which he has dominated as prime minister for nearly 14 years. His next job will be even more challengin­g: He will be the new head of a NATO that is facing threats ranging from Russian aggression to the rise of rightwing nationalis­m across Europe.

Rutte, known as a flexible pragmatist, will bring his experience at conciliati­on to the 32- nation military alliance when he takes over as secretary- general from Jens Stoltenber­g on October 1. As it celebrates its 75th anniversar­y with a summit in Washington this week, NATO, which was founded to deter the former Soviet Union from further expansion in Europe, has found renewed purpose in its support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. Beyond that challenge, NATO faces a Russian government forging stronger ties with China and Iran, even as Beijing tries to dominate Asia and Tehran expands its nuclear program.

Leading member states like France and Germany are dealing with the empowermen­t of farright parties with clear sympathies for Moscow. Hungary and Turkey are authoritar­ian democracie­s. And there are new demands to spend more money on the military.

Then there is the strong possibilit­y that Donald Trump, a vocal skeptic about NATO and aid to Ukraine, will return to the White House as the leading presence in what remains a US- dominated alliance. But Rutte, 57, has managed four difficult and different ruling coalitions in the Netherland­s with aplomb, putting the need for agreement before personal ideology. He is a known quantity for other leaders, and has been praised both by President Joe Biden, who pushed him to take the job, and by Trump, who once said after an Oval Office meeting, “I like this guy!”

Unlike Stoltenber­g, a Norwegian, Rutte comes from a country fully integrated in both NATO and the European Union. “That is really substantiv­ely important now, because we really need both organisati­ons to work more closely together,” said Camille Grand, a former assistant NATO secretary- general.

“He is a nice and easy guy, but also extremely tough, who does not suffer fools gladly,” said Robert de Groot, a former Dutch ambassador to the European Union who has worked closely with Rutte since 2011. “He’s extremely kind and loyal, but he will drive you like he drives himself.”

Stoltenber­g said he was hesitant to give Rutte any advice, “but what is obvious is that the main task for NATO is to ensure that we are united.” The 32 alliance members “have agreed on many issues,” Stoltenber­g said in a widerangin­g discussion with a small group of journalist­s Sunday. “We will not agree on every issue in the future, either, but we have proven extremely resilient.”

Rutte, the son of a car dealer, is known for his big smile and has a penchant for finding common ground, rather than pushing his own point of view.

Despite his affability, he is a private person of regular habits who lives alone, does not cook, drives an old Saab and goes to the same summer house every year.

But after 14 years, he is also leaving his country with a lot of problems. The new government includes Geert Wilders’ nationalis­t far- right group, the Party for Freedom, which won the most seats in a November 2023 election and is known for its harsh stances on immigratio­n and Islam. There is criticism of Rutte’s own record on numerous issues, including a lack of new housing, consumers’ declining purchasing power and insufficie­nt attention to the quality of education.

At NATO, a major part of Rutte’s task will be to increase military spending, as Trump always demands, while making European security less dependent on America — to try to “Trump- proof” the alliance’s support for Ukraine while also pacifying the man who could be president and who has remained noncommitt­al about keeping the US in NATO.