MANAGING RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES
He took over from Jens Stoltenberg, who served for 10 years as the NATO chief.
Rutte’s long-standing relationships with alliance countries will help score him big political points in his new role, said observers.
A key part of his job will be to foster relations on both sides of the Atlantic amid leadership changes, they added.
The outcome of the United States presidential election in November, between Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, could have a significant bearing on Rutte’s NATO tenure.
German Marshall Fund’s Lesser said: “I’m sure a Trump administration, if we were to have one again, would be much more critical, more difficult to deal with, (and would) press harder on issues of having Europe spend more (and) do more on defence.”
Rutte could however have a way to deal with Trump. He was nicknamed the “Trump whisperer” after smoothing things over at a NATO summit in 2018 by talking the former US president around on defence spending.
“If we look at the potential scenario of a Trump administration returning in 2025, then Rutte will certainly be important in terms of engaging with the Trump administration,” said Malcolm Davis, senior analyst at think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
But there are concerns that a second Trump administration would be more uncertain.
“In the second Trump administration, it’s much more likely that Trump will be a loose cannon on the world stage. And so therefore, he could do real damage,” Davis told CNA938 on Tuesday.
“So (Rutte would have) to convince Trump that he has to be fully committed to NATO.”
A Harris presidency, on the other hand, would bring a greater degree of continuity, he believes.
“I think that there’s not as much to worry about with a Harris administration in regards to NATO as there is with a Trump administration, where I think his real incentive is to try and withdraw as much as possible from NATO as quickly as possible.”
