On June 26, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officially appointed outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as Secretary General to succeed Mr. Jens Stoltenberg on October 1.
According to DW, the appointment of Mark Rutte as NATO Secretary General was confirmed last week, when his only rival for the position, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, withdrew from the race. Outgoing Secretary General Stoltenberg praised Mr. Rutte as a "true transatlanticist, strong leader and consensus builder".
The new NATO boss will be officially welcomed at the organization's summit in Washington DC (USA) from July 9 to 11.
The main task of new Secretary General Mark Rutte will be to balance the conflicting interests of the 32 NATO members so that the organization can speak with one voice. According to analysts, Mr. Rutte is "a successful crisis manager". For a long time, many Dutch citizens were satisfied with the political stability that Mr. Rutte maintained during the financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the changes in many European countries.
However, the new NATO Secretary General will have to prepare for the possibility that Donald Trump will return to the White House and turn his attention to NATO once again. Trump, during his 2016-2020 term as US President, demanded that NATO members contribute their fair share of GDP. Despite their positive relationship, Rutte, as the leader of a trading nation, has been a staunch opponent of Trump’s protectionist economic policies.
New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Photo: DPA
Unlike Mr Trump, Mr Rutte has supported sending weapons to Ukraine, even providing Dutch artillery and fighter jets. But the Dutch military itself has suffered budget shortfalls during Mr Rutte’s 13 years in power. Only in 2024 will the Netherlands spend 2% of its GDP on defence for the first time, in line with NATO’s spending target.
KHANH MINH
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nhung-thach-thuc-moi-cua-tan-tong-thu-ky-nato-post746411.html
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