who is Mark Rutte, the next boss of the Atlantic alliance?

His appointment will not be ratified until next week, but the future head of NATO is called Mark Rutte. Since Thursday, the Dutch Prime Minister is alone in the running to soon lead the Alliance, in a particularly tense period.

After the withdrawal, on Thursday, June 20, of the candidacy of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is now alone in the running to become the next Secretary General of NATO. He is expected to take office on October 1. And he will need all his talents to lead the Alliance in one of the most difficult periods in its history.

The Dutch candidate’s first quality is undoubtedly the one that earned him the nickname “Teflon Prime Minister”, because scandals or unforeseen events slide over him without affecting him. Liberal Mark Rutte is his country’s longest-serving prime minister, with four mandates in a row. In the Netherlands, within the coalition with the far right of Geert Wilders, cIt has already been almost a year that he has been managing current affairs while waiting for a new government. Besides, this veteran of European politics has never hidden his intention to take over from the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg at the head of NATO.

Mark Rutte, who is not devoid of humor, is also “Mr. Normal”: he does his shopping at the supermarket, arrives by bike when he has a meeting with foreign leaders, and himself gets behind the wheel of his car to go see the king. Simple, frank, pragmatic and realistic, this is the style of diplomacy that he should impose at the head of NATO.

The main challenge awaiting him is first of all to manage the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House. The billionaire has already threatened several times to remove the United States from the Alliance, we remember his diatribes against the Europeans whom he accuses of being well below what they are supposed to devote to their military spending . “But he was absolutely right.”, Mark Rutte said in January. Moreover, today, nine countries out of 32 still cannot devote 2% of their gross domestic product to defense. He will try to improve this statistic.

The two men know each other well, and the Dutch leader has already proven that he is capable of calming the outbursts of the 45th American president. His technique? Show that he takes him seriously and is not afraid to stand up to him. “Let’s stop complaining and whining about Trump,” he often says, Europe must work with everyone on the dance floor.

Regarding aid to Ukraine, his job will be to secure it over time. At the next NATO summit in July, it should already be noted that it is now the Atlantic alliance which will coordinate Western aid, and no longer just the United States. Above all, Mark Rutte wants to obtain a formal commitment on a common envelope of 40 billion euros per year, for as long as it takes. This will be more difficult: Hungary already has a derogation – he promised not to touch it, and Italy does not want to take any more action.

Mark Rutte will also have to ensure that in the event of a conflict with Russia, the Alliance is in battle order: for this, he will have to accelerate the production of anti-aircraft defense systems and shells. Without forgetting to look towards China, which is gaining momentum, and not let ourselves be left too far behind, particularly in the areas of new technologies or cybersecurity.