Rutte will take over NATO’s leadership at a critical time. His new job will begin by Oct. 2, just over a month before the U.S. election, which will shape the fate of the military alliance that has served as Eastern Europe’s most successful deterrence to an aggressive Russia. Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the current Republican candidate, has pledged to stay in NATO but threatened to cut U.S. aid to Ukraine if reelected.
Observers, though, credit Rutte for being a “Trump whisperer,” thanks to his ability to make deals with politicians from different backgrounds, even earning the then-U.S. president’s praise: “I like this guy!”
Having Rutte confirmed also means the succession issue is cleared up before July when NATO leaders head to Washington to mark the alliance’s 75th anniversary.
Rutte’s quest for the NATO top job has been a long journey. He has been campaigning for the job since last November.
Rutte has been criticized for not being active enough in canvassing support from Eastern European countries, who questioned his pre-2014 support for Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
Rutte also continuously failed to bring Dutch defense spending up to NATO’s target of 2 percent of GDP throughout his 14-year premiership of the EU’s fifth-largest economy. The Netherlands is finally expected to meet that target this year, according to NATO’s latest figures.
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