Mark Rutte set to lead NATO as a "walking compromise machine"

The new NATO Secretary General is the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte. The German press writes, "He is a walking compromise machine."

Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: "From NATO's perspective, the 57-year-old Mark Rutte is an almost ideal candidate. On the one hand, he is a proven supporter of transatlantic policy but not one who dances to Washington's tune. On the other hand, he is a committed and convinced supporter of Ukraine but not a fierce opponent of Russia. One and a half decades at the head of Dutch coalition governments and an equally long time in the European Council taught Rutte how to achieve success through negotiation and compromise. This is of great value in an organization that operates by consensus."

According to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Mark Rutte is seen in Brussels as an insurance policy against the return of Donald Trump because he allegedly got along well with the highly critical NATO Republican during his first term. Trump usually cares about flattery, and in the case of his re-election, that would not be enough. As president, he adhered to two principles in foreign policy: keep America out of wars and shift costs to other countries, including allies. As Chancellor Scholz said in the Bundestag, that we could always rely on the USA sounds more like magic than an analysis. Hope for Biden's re-election is not yet a strategy. A forward-thinking policy must consider that Europeans may soon face more significant financial and military burdens."

Straubinger Tagblatt/Landshuter Zeitung states: "Rutte is not an emergency solution. He is not just a statesman who has time now because he lost his position in the country after 13 years. Even before the crisis in his government, he was interested in the position at the head of the Western Alliance. He brings qualifications that the Alliance can reasonably use in these times. Rutte governed in different configurations, making him a walking compromise machine. He is considered an absolute pragmatist who does not see himself as the most important but puts matters and finds solutions first. Thanks to his long tenure as prime minister, Rutte has excellent connections on both sides of the Atlantic. A significant argument for his selection is that he was encouraged to run by US President Joe Biden and his predecessor and potential successor, Donald Trump."

In a similar tone, Volksstimme from Magdeburg comments, emphasizing that persuading Viktor Orban to support his candidacy was no small diplomatic feat for the Dutchman. The newspaper simultaneously points out that "Rutte now has to maintain the unity of 32 countries and be careful not to drag the Alliance into the war between Russia and Ukraine. On the contrary, NATO should try much harder to end the bloodshed. It is probably good that it did not give in to the pressures from Eastern Europeans who wanted to fill the position with someone from their ranks. Klaus Iohannis from Romania didn't stand a chance anyway, while the situation looked different with Kaja Kallas. She governs Estonia, which borders Putin's empire and has a significant Russian minority. Her staunch support for Ukraine may cloud her view of the overall situation in the Alliance. This also matters if Kallas becomes the EU's foreign affairs representative."