Who is Mark Rutte? The Teflon Who Wants to Become the Leader of the War Against Russia

AMSTERDAM – Prime Minister (PM) Dutch Mark Rutte, who has earned the nickname The Teflon, has the ambition to lead the war against Russia by becoming Secretary General NATO .

It also allows NATO to show unity and show solidarity with war-torn Ukraine when US President Joe Biden and his colleagues meet in Washington on July 9-11. This summit commemorates NATO’s 75th anniversary.

At talks in Budapest last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who will step down in October, reached an agreement with the Hungarian leader that the country not stand in the way of NATO’s plans for Ukraine.

Stoltenberg accepted that Hungary was not obliged to provide personnel or funds for the collective effort, but Orbán wanted to hear it from Rutte as well.

NATO makes all its decisions by consensus, giving any of its 32 member states effective veto power, including over whether they should take part in joint efforts or operations.

Photo/AP

Who is Mark Rutte? The Teflon Who Wants to Become the Leader of the War Against Russia

1. Very Anti-Russian

Photo/AP

Why does Rutte want to be the leader of the war against Russia? NATO’s next secretary general will face the challenge of maintaining allied support for Ukraine’s fight against a Russian invasion. He also guarded against any escalation that could pull the military alliance directly into war with Moscow.

According to Reuters, in the two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Rutte has been one of the driving forces behind Europe’s military support for Ukraine, repeatedly emphasizing what he said was the absolute necessity of Russia’s defeat on the battlefield to guarantee peace in Europe.

Under his recent leadership, the Netherlands has increased defense spending above the 2% GDP threshold required by NATO members, providing F-16 fighter jets, artillery, drones and ammunition to Kyiv as well as investing heavily in its own military.

2. Supported Hungary and Slovakia

Photo/AP

Hours before the NOS report was published, Hungary and Slovakia had given their support to Rutte’s candidacy, overcoming a major hurdle on his path to NATO’s top job.