The Prague Post - Flatterer-in-chief: How NATO's Rutte worked to win over Trump

EUR -
AED 4.297386
AFN 80.467794
ALL 97.872991
AMD 449.276016
ANG 2.093835
AOA 1072.87855
ARS 1467.774
AUD 1.79417
AWG 2.105977
AZN 1.99308
BAM 1.95526
BBD 2.362148
BDT 142.610645
BGN 1.95341
BHD 0.441082
BIF 3485.738063
BMD 1.169987
BND 1.498686
BOB 8.083769
BRL 6.389882
BSD 1.170177
BTN 100.206347
BWP 15.630686
BYN 3.828643
BYR 22931.747673
BZD 2.349951
CAD 1.603134
CDF 3376.582946
CHF 0.932365
CLF 0.028717
CLP 1101.998998
CNY 8.393546
CNH 8.406738
COP 4735.253796
CRC 590.037171
CUC 1.169987
CUP 31.004659
CVE 110.234579
CZK 24.625904
DJF 208.332508
DKK 7.460961
DOP 70.150641
DZD 151.929827
EGP 57.984618
ERN 17.549807
ETB 162.324104
FJD 2.632178
FKP 0.862008
GBP 0.861461
GEL 3.170538
GGP 0.862008
GHS 12.196634
GIP 0.862008
GMD 83.658829
GNF 10152.198363
GTQ 8.991519
GYD 244.652485
HKD 9.184381
HNL 30.591558
HRK 7.536123
HTG 153.547626
HUF 400.232743
IDR 19026.213647
ILS 3.896431
IMP 0.862008
INR 100.28843
IQD 1532.577065
IRR 49285.708304
ISK 143.592463
JEP 0.862008
JMD 187.01839
JOD 0.829496
JPY 171.614881
KES 151.302566
KGS 102.315607
KHR 4697.703605
KMF 491.981368
KPW 1052.96269
KRW 1610.124358
KWD 0.357431
KYD 0.974931
KZT 606.702572
LAK 25207.043774
LBP 104823.272594
LKR 351.71294
LRD 234.565269
LSL 20.853045
LTL 3.454667
LVL 0.707714
LYD 6.327254
MAD 10.536492
MDL 19.829528
MGA 5178.570903
MKD 61.560368
MMK 2456.396613
MNT 4198.568016
MOP 9.45949
MRU 46.609138
MUR 52.988436
MVR 18.008171
MWK 2028.640169
MXN 21.750529
MYR 4.973033
MZN 74.832044
NAD 20.853045
NGN 1791.413783
NIO 43.04812
NOK 11.832671
NPR 160.329755
NZD 1.954352
OMR 0.449862
PAB 1.169877
PEN 4.153154
PGK 4.907646
PHP 66.185592
PKR 332.690889
PLN 4.239363
PYG 9067.497701
QAR 4.265823
RON 5.07751
RSD 117.146123
RUB 91.553884
RWF 1690.533474
SAR 4.388258
SBD 9.754094
SCR 17.167074
SDG 702.586203
SEK 11.164573
SGD 1.49914
SHP 0.919426
SLE 26.319802
SLL 24534.049329
SOS 668.615486
SRD 43.668022
STD 24216.371317
SVC 10.236175
SYP 15212.324544
SZL 20.852246
THB 38.284904
TJS 11.318776
TMT 4.106655
TND 3.421656
TOP 2.740225
TRY 46.847337
TTD 7.943808
TWD 34.138818
TZS 3074.142413
UAH 48.899605
UGX 4199.840997
USD 1.169987
UYU 47.326939
UZS 14871.895898
VES 131.375283
VND 30582.293491
VUV 139.584055
WST 3.221398
XAF 655.77603
XAG 0.032055
XAU 0.000356
XCD 3.161949
XDR 0.814409
XOF 655.77603
XPF 119.331742
YER 282.961125
ZAR 20.869148
ZMK 10531.287412
ZMW 28.458147
ZWL 376.735377
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Flatterer-in-chief: How NATO's Rutte worked to win over Trump
Flatterer-in-chief: How NATO's Rutte worked to win over Trump / Photo: Andrew Harnik - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Flatterer-in-chief: How NATO's Rutte worked to win over Trump

When former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte took over as NATO chief last year his primary task was clear: keep Donald Trump on board should he come back to power.

Text size:

Now, on the eve of hosting his first alliance summit as boss in his hometown, The Hague, the veteran political operator seems on the verge of delivering.

With a combination of diplomatic finessing and a large dose of flattery, Rutte looks set to make the volatile US leader happy with a carefully crafted deal that meets Trump's demand for NATO allies to spend five percent of GDP on defence.

"He's been quite masterful in keeping the alliance together in a very difficult and sensitive period," a senior NATO diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Rutte's tour de force was cooking up a compromise on spending that allows Trump to claim victory by hitting his headline five-percent figure, while in reality setting the bar lower.

The agreement sees countries promise to spend 3.5 percent of GDP on core military spending, while the other 1.5 percent goes to a looser array of areas like infrastructure and cybersecurity.

Getting a successful outcome for NATO, the transatlantic alliance forged during the Cold War, was by no means a given when Trump stormed back into the White House threatening allies he would not protect them if they did not cough up.

As Washington berated Ukraine, cosied up to Russia and opened the door to pulling forces from Europe, it set alarm bells ringing over the future of an alliance founded on US might.

Rutte's strategy has seemed relatively simple: never criticise or contradict the notoriously sensitive former reality TV star.

- Pain from Spain -

When Trump suggested Ukraine caused Russia's invasion: silence. When he yelled at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office: no pushback. When he threatened not to protect allies: nothing to see here.

Instead, according to Rutte, Trump has been absolutely right to demand a quick end to the Ukraine war, has not called into question NATO's mutual defence ethos, and has actually made the alliance stronger by forcing allies to spend more.

All that courting appears to have paid off.

Diplomats say Rutte is one of only a handful of European leaders Trump willingly picks up the phone to and that the two text each other.

"Clearly the job is to keep the United States engaged as far as you can, even if it means that you have to sound a bit like Donald Trump occasionally," said Jamie Shea, a former senior NATO official now with the Chatham House think tank.

"So as long as that's the situation, I think allies will sort of turn a blind eye in Europe, at least to the occasional uses of Trumpian means and themes" by Rutte.

That does not mean European allies have always been comfortable with Rutte's performance -- with some at times accusing him of going too far to please Trump.

That very nearly ended up blowing up in Rutte's face when Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threw a last-minute spanner in the works by baulking at the spending deal.

In the end though, Rutte again showed his diplomatic chops and managed to smooth over the kerfuffle with another sleight of hand that allowed all sides to claim they got what they wanted.

"Hats off to Rutte's artistry," said another NATO diplomat. "Once again we saw his touch."

F.Vit--TPP