Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who was widely rejected by his country’s voters in last year’s election, has been confirmed as NATO’s next secretary-general and is due to take up the job later this year.
Mark Rutte, whose fate was ousted in the Netherlands due to the migrant crisis and his aggressive and unwavering implementation of the EU’s Green Directive, which was criticised for destroying Dutch agriculture, will become the next Secretary General (SG) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Jens Stoltenberg, who will step down in October after an extension to his term, will step down at a crucial time for the defence alliance, after NATO has become heavily involved in defending non-member Ukraine against Russian aggression.
When Stoltenberg’s term ends later this year he will have served as secretary-general for 10 years, making him the longest-serving secretary-general since the end of the Cold War.
Dutch globalist government collapses, Prime Minister Mark Rutte resigns, pro-farmer populists threaten to topple government in next electionhttps://t.co/6W0ixlj4Zy
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 8, 2023
Rutte’s appointment appears to confirm a new 21st-century norm: that NATO secretary-generals are former prime ministers of small Nordic countries. He will be the fourth NATO secretary-general from the Netherlands, giving the country the most secretaries-generals of any NATO member state.
Stoltenberg wrote Wednesday about his successor: “Mark is a true transatlanticist, a strong leader and consensus builder. I wish him every success as we continue to strengthen NATO. I am confident that we are leaving NATO in good hands.”
Indeed, while Rutte is undoubtedly a member of Europe’s centrist globalist business elite and, as Dutch Prime Minister, has pushed the European agenda to the breaking point of voters, he is also seen as a “Trump whisperer” who is on friendly terms with Trump, who may become the next US president. As we’ve reported before:
While the two men may not share the same political views, Rutte has been diplomatic with Trump in the past and has even scolded other European leaders for their constant criticism of the former president.
In 2019, Rutte said he was annoyed at the “white wine-drinking elites” who were appalled by Trump’s criticism of organisations like NATO, and said the president was right to point out that organisations like NATO had problems and needed improvement. [Rutte] Rutte pointed out that the former president was, in fact, right to point out how European countries were paying too little for their own defense, ignoring their NATO treaty obligations. The report at the time noted that more pragmatic leaders recognised they should not be taken “seriously, but literally”, but amid a flurry of news reports leaving commentators distraught over Trump’s latest comments on NATO, Rutte said “we should stop whining, complaining and moaning about President Trump”.
Dutch PM: Hungary has no place in EU after LGBT education law, EU should force Hungary to ‘surrender’ https://t.co/JnkWZ7sJKq
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 26, 2021
Rutte has been the Dutch prime minister for many years and remained in the role of caretaker prime minister after his party was defeated in November 2023. At the time, Rutte hailed Geert Wilders’s shift to right-wing populism, an anti-mass immigration and anti-Islamism platform, as a “major victory.” As is often the case in Dutch elections, the winning coalition is still working to form a new government seven months later. Wilders’ Party for Freedom, which rejects Rutte’s globalist open borders policies, became the largest party, while the Dutch New Farmers Party, which rejects Rutte’s Eurogreen policies, also played a major role.
The Ukraine war remains top of NATO’s leadership agenda, and Rutte’s election is a clear sign of no change to NATO’s long-stated intention to include the country in the alliance. During his time as Dutch politician, Rutte was one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters, even transferring Dutch F-16 fighter jets to the Ukrainian air force.
Zelenskyy claims Netherlands will send entire fleet of F-16 fighter jets after meeting with Dutch PMhttps://t.co/n4EzXTUR73
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 20, 2023
