The News
Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte officially became secretary-general of NATO on Tuesday, taking on the top job at a critical moment for the Western defense alliance.
The role will present immediate challenges, Politico noted: Just a month into his appointment, Rutte will have to confront the election of a new US president, which “may prove a make-or-break moment” for the bloc.
Defense spending will also remain a key focus for Rutte, experts said, given the threat of further Russian aggression and ongoing pressure from the US for all countries to meet the spending target of 2% of GDP. He may even have to push for an increase, as spending is also key for Ukraine’s war effort.
SIGNALS
‘Plain-spoken Dutchman’ may be what fractured NATO needs
Mark Rutte’s role as Dutch prime minister was akin to that of a “small-town salesman,” able to negotiate compromises and win over doubters, a Dutch journalist wrote in an opinion essay for The New York Times. Those skills could help the “plain-spoken Dutchman” lead a fractured NATO, divided and fatigued by the Ukraine war and uncertainty over the next US president. Previously dubbed the “Trump whisperer” for seeming to smoothly manage former US President Donald Trump’s past clashes with the alliance, Rutte may be the best placed person to navigate any disturbance to the alliance should Trump win in November. Either way, “Rutte will not like being Trump’s or Harris’s lapdog,” noted Dutch newspaper de Volksrant, and he may try to take a more assertive stance.
Issue of Ukraine membership hangs over NATO
Ukraine’s President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy’s plan for “total victory” in the war with Russia is unlikely to be attainable, The Economist argued, presenting a dilemma for Kyiv’s allies in the West. To guarantee Ukraine’s long-term security, NATO and the West should equip Kyiv with long-range weapons, and NATO should formally invite Ukraine to join the alliance immediately — even without an armistice, the outlet argued, although the alliance should ensure that its Article 5 pledge to mutual defense would not apply to the Ukrainian territory Russia currently occupies. Doing so may “help [Zelenskyy] redefine victory,” the magazine wrote. Meanwhile, NATO would stand to benefit if Ukraine was able to successfully revamp its arms industry.
In first speech as NATO chief, Rutte hints at Turkey frustrations
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has long bristled against what he has described as other NATO members’ unofficial weapon embargoes limiting arms sales to Turkey — and at his first press conference as NATO chief, Mark Rutte emphasized there should be no boundaries “in terms of who can supply whatever” within the alliance. Like the US, Turkey “carries a lot of weight” within NATO, the Netherlands’ NRC newspaper noted. A key strategic hub for the alliance because of its geographic location, Erdoğan has rattled Brussels by seeking closer economic ties with NATO antagonists Russia and China, and recently announced Turkey would bid to join the rival BRICS alliance — a drift Rutte may be trying to stop.