Rutte will become the fourth Dutchman to head the alliance, maintaining a traditional strong bond between the Netherlands as a founding member and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As a veteran politician, Rutte stands as the longest-serving prime minister of the Netherlands, having held the position for 14 years since 2010. His extended career in politics and pragmatic nature as leader of the Dutch state has been deemed by many a valuable and relevant asset for the alliance. Considered as central to his appointment to NATO’s helm was Rutte’s reputational experience in dealing with former US President Donald Trump — a fierce NATO-sceptic, for a lack of a better word, whose possible reelection in November may further destabilize the alliance. As was the case with Stoltenberg, the perception Rutte gives to the alliance will be consequential in determining Washington’s policy towards NATO, were the former businessman to win the November elections. 

Indeed, Stoltenberg has quite successfully dealt and communicated with Trump in a rather pragmatic way during the latter’s term. The current NATO Secretary General had to deal with Trump in a pivotal position following his successful presidential campaign which brought the relevance of the alliance into question, tagging it in a 2017 Times of London interview as “obsolete”. As per The New York Times in 2019, Trump went as far as to threaten the US’ membership within NATO completely. Though Trump clashed with other NATO leaders during his term, notably with French president Emmanuel Macron due to their differing opinions of the necessity of NATO, the former US president would seemingly develop an admiration towards Stoltenberg, calling himself a fan of his. The former Norwegian prime minister managed the situation carefully, redirecting any negative attention Trump had over the alliance into an open discussion, arguably proving that with reliable leadership, the coalition has the potential to deal with dissenting heads of government, even when they come from Washington. Yet, though Stoltenberg was able to navigate Trump’s presidency, the deterrence posture towards Russia made things tense. 

By gaining his respect, Stoltenberg managed to keep the former president from undermining the alliance’s mutual defense guarantees which obliges all NATO member states to militarily support a member state whose been attacked. Stoltenberg went as far as offering an interview on the American channel Fox News, known for supporting the Republican Party and Trump, hence leveraging media as a tool to strengthen the US-NATO relationship. Going forward, Rutte’s most challenging task will be keeping the US onboard NATO, requiring the Dutch politician to take advantage of his reputed ideological and political flexibility.

The former Dutch prime minister has previously made comments on how Europe should stop whining about the American leader and focus on what Ukraine desperately needs. He earned the nickname “Trump whisperer” from Semafor, an advocate for journalistic transparency, after assuring an increase in his spending for the European military defenses. As a veteran politician, Rutte’s learnt-ability to strike deals by reaching across the political spectrum domestically has benefited him massively in seeking his NATO candidacy’s approval from all 32 members of the alliance. 

Yet, the US is not the only member that has expressed NATO skepticism. Back in Europe, political dissent towards the organization has also been felt in the bloc’s eastern front, simmering tensions Rutte will hence need to keep in check on top of those in the US. Notably, NATO members Turkey and Hungary have had a practice of previous confrontations with Mark Rutte. Both states’ respective leaders Tayyip Erdogan and Viktor Orban had earlier expressed reservations about Rutte’s candidacy for the position of Secretary General. In his quest for full support from all NATO members to earn the position, the Dutch leader went on to convince both Erdogan and Orban personally.

Previous diplomatic differences got Erdogan to the point of calling the Netherlands “Nazi remnants” amidst a canceled rally, with tensions surrounding another Dutch political figure, Geert Wilders, seeming to make things worse. Rutte, however, known for keeping himself out of scandals argued that Wilders — like any other Dutch — has freedom of expression, as does the nation itself. In convincing Turkey’s Erdogan, Rutte flew to meet him by his own accord to settle the issues diplomatically. Possessing the second-largest European military, assuring Turkey’s support may prove vital for Rutte’s future relationship with Erdogan in his new role. 

In Hungary’s case, the central-eastern nation had cemented quite a bit of hostility towards Rutte from years of EU-level political head-butting. In various occasions, the Dutch prime minister publicly disagreed with Orban’s illiberal policies, notably in Rutte’s public protest against Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ laws, stating that Hungary could “even leave the European Union” if they continued with such opposing values. Although altercations had previously occurred, Hungary followed through and supported Rutte’s candidacy after making a deal with him. The agreement was made after both leaders agreed that Hungary would not be obligated to offer any aid to Ukraine. 

Mark Rutte has continuously demonstrated his capability of political maneuver, managing to create coalitions within the Dutch government and adapting to liaise with the wide spectrum of governments at the EU level. Just like the current secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, Rutte is an Atlanticist while still keeping great relations with most EU leaders. 

Soon to be seated at the alliance’s helm, mediation will be key for Rutte. He must make headway in future disputes on critical issues among fragmented leaders to represent their joint interests globally. Geopolitical threats like the Ukraine war or tensions with the United States are just a few challenges the former prime minister will likely face. NATO is more than a close military alliance bounded by common perceptions of danger: it is a security organization, bound by institutions, transcendental partnerships, and shared core values. NATO will hence need to seek ways to deal with the bloc’s increasing internal fragmentation, partly by leveraging Mark Rutte’s political versatility from its helm.