The new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte: what will change on the battlefield with the new “first fiddle”
28 June 2024 18:37
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, has been appointed the next NATO Secretary General. He will replace Jens Stoltenberg, who has been Secretary General for ten years, since 2014. Rutte will take office on 1 October. What should Ukraine expect from the new NATO Secretary General and what are the risks? [Kommersant] analysed this issue together with political scientist Ivan Stupak.
What are the risks for Ukraine with the election of a new NATO Secretary General?
There are always risks. As with any candidate: a district deputy, a regional deputy, a people’s deputy, the president of Ukraine and the NATO secretary general – the risks are the same. A candidate is one story, with his or her own rhetoric, thoughts, and ideas. And a person who has already been elected to office, who begins to look at everything from a different angle, taking into account the position where he is sitting, and his further steps may not coincide with those declared. What is my point? Right now, Rutte looks very promising for Ukraine. His Russophobia is not overwhelming, but he looks more determined than his predecessor and is ready to convey that his country is actively helping Ukraine. However, it may turn out that when he takes office, and he can look at, for example, intelligence, look at some other secret materials that were at the disposal of his predecessor, and say: now I understand why Ukraine was not immediately helped, or why the help is delayed. And this is where the risk lies.
What benefits can Ukraine get after Mark Rutte takes office?
He supports Ukraine. He is active in this regard, I am very impressed by this, and I want him to maintain his proactive stance. What can he do? Yes, he can do a lot, but not everything. He can convince the countries, the members of the Alliance, the 32 countries, he can make additional arguments. But in a dictatorial regime, it is difficult to chop up Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey and force them all to recognise Ukraine as a country that should be in the alliance. We have a great ally, he [Rutte – ed.] is a great negotiator, influential, proactive, but we should not expect big breakthrough stories from him, that he will immediately give us aircraft carriers, spaceships, and so on.
Rutte’s Russophobia is not overwhelming. He can be a great help to Ukraine
It is worth recalling that in November 2023, the Freedom Party, headed by pro-Russian politician Geert Wilders, won the Dutch elections. The party’s values do not coincide with European ones. In particular, they advocate denying asylum to refugees and cancelling aid to Ukraine. Wilders did not hide his admiration for Putin and stated that the Netherlands should get rid of “Russophobia”.
There has been no influence of the pro-Russian Freedom Party on Rutte’s position over these six months, but can anything change?
I am sure that his roots will not pull him back. The roots in the sense of the Netherlands, like “don’t say that, say that, vote, don’t vote”. No, he has another job, he is the NATO Secretary General. Whatever the domestic political situation there [in the Netherlands – ed. He does not depend on the national government at all. His salary is paid by the Alliance, he has his own apparatus, staff, and he works there. It’s not the chair that controls the situation, it’s the person who occupies it.
What can Mark Rutte do to ensure Ukraine’s victory on the battlefield?
I am confident and want to believe that Mr Rutte will be a great help to Ukraine. Yes, I don’t expect anything from him on the battlefield in terms of an immediate breakthrough, but in terms of mobilising the entire defence industry of the alliance, putting more pressure, and his strong position will influence those who still have doubts about Ukraine – yes.
It is very good that we have a NATO Secretary General who is for Ukraine and against the Russian Federation.
Author – Anastasia Fedor
