Mark Rutte: The Right Man in the Right Place at the Right Time
The NATO Secretary General has had placed in front of him the seemingly thankless job of maintaining one of our most crucial institutions in the face of what can only be described as unprecedented statements directed toward a NATO ally from President Donald Trump. Unfortunately, internet discourse is ruled by petty nationalism and small mindedness from seemingly all directions. Secretary General Rutte seems to draw ire from this same “type” on both sides of the Atlantic. Those who fail to understand the American-European dialectic. As the Secretary General put it himself: "We need each other, and why do we need each other? Because the US also needs NATO".
On one hand a number of Americans on a steady diet of “alternative” media deeply misunderstand Europe, NATO, and almost all international institutions that don’t involve beating something with a stick until it obeys. The Trump administrations approach, especially toward allies, will surely have to be addressed in a legislative manner by the subsequent administration, as much American discourse (both online and unfortunately amongst some policy makers) displays a failure to grasp the importance of European cultural, political, and geo-strategic influence. On the other hand Europeans (understandably) witness bombastic rhetoric, threats, tariffs, and more from the president of a country with military bases in *their* country, and have a negative reaction. It reeks of instability, yes. Perhaps through ineffective or incompetent messaging from senior officials, Europeans feel themselves to be a vassal state, not recognizing their autonomy and the powerful role they play in the alliance. This feeling is surely exacerbated by the policies and rhetoric coming out of the United States in recent years. However; multilateral, international institutions such as NATO are more than one man, one administration, or even one country. Tensions have been needlessly high, though this alliance has also seen reinforcement vis-a-vis President Trump’s insistence that European allies increase their military spending in order to, among other things, support Ukrainian war efforts. NATO has endured a myriad of political thought and leadership, and it will endure a myriad more.
Mark Rutte and those alongside him critically recognize the world as it is, and as it may well be. That one, as things are now, cannot persist without the other. And as this is one of the most powerful alliances in history, he will be remembered for having preserved it through deepest adversity. Empathy stops short when faced with the inability to see what this institution has afforded Western society in terms of strength and prosperity. However, it hardly needs to be said; we all look forward to American political leadership which can emphasize diplomacy, particularly amongst allies, and pursue a moralizing mythos.