This Tuesday, October 1, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte takes the helm of NATO at a time when this alliance of 32 Western countries is in complete uncertainty, one month before the American presidential election.
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This October 1 in Brussels, the Dutchman Mark Rutte succeeds the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who remained at the head of the Atlantic Alliance for ten years. This transfer of power takes place at NATO headquarters, as part of a meeting of the Atlantic Council, the political body of theNATO which brings together the ambassadors of member countries. Jens Stoltenberg, 65, will open the meeting and Mark Rutte, 57, will conclude it.
The new head of NATO assured that he was not worried about the result of the American elections on November 5: “ I know both candidates very well and I worked with Donald Trump for four years », affirmed Mr. Rutte to the press, shortly before officially taking office. Jens Stoltenberg assured, for his part, that the Atlantic Alliance was “ in good hands “.
Moreover, Mark Rutte bears the English nickname of “ The Trump Whisperer » (“the man who whispers in Trump’s ear”) for his ability to reason with the former American president. He is credited with saving a NATO summit in 2018 by talking to Mr Trump about defense spending.
“ Shades »
A NATO diplomat, when discussing this transition, said: “ There will perhaps be nuances, changes in emphasis on this or that thing, but there will also be a lot of continuity. » Because the two men know each other well. As Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte has represented his country at NATO summits for the past fourteen years. And he also met the former Norwegian Prime Minister before the latter took up his position at NATO. “ He has the qualities and experience to really do his job excellently. “, Mr. Stoltenberg said of him during his last public conference in Brussels on September 19.
They will not be too much in the face of the challenges that await the future secretary general of theNATO. And in particular the war which is still raging in Ukraine, at the gates of the Atlantic Alliance, two and a half years after the invasion of this country by the Russian army. Mark Rutte will therefore have to ensure during his very first major meeting – a meeting of NATO defense ministers on October 17 and 18 – to maintain the essential Western military support at the highest level.Ukraine at war, as pressure mounts to end this war and open negotiations.
Order of battle
Mark Rutte, then in power in the Netherlands, always defended budgetary frugality; this time he will have to ensure that NATO is in good shape in the face of the Russian threat, in accordance with its defense plans adopted in 2023. These revealed that the Allies lacked, for example, defense anti-aircraft or artillery production capabilities after years of cuts in military budgets. Only 23 of the Alliance’s 32 countries have achieved the goal set ten years ago of devoting at least 2% of their gross domestic product to military spending. And several of them assure that, facing the Kremlin, much more is now needed.
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