ER Editor: And this in Clown World while Gaza gets destroyed.
We doubt any of this, so we’re filing it under ‘this is what is being said’. We’re not sure if NATO still exists and whether or not Mark Rutte and his globalist, WEF ilk still have their personal freedom. This is all a bit theatrical as Mitt Romney, mentioned below, may not have his liberty either.
Notice how the reporting goes into insulting comedy about Rutte. And it ends with Rutte criticizing himself in some key ways. Notice the signalling about Trump coming back.
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“Rutte brings the advantage of being a very experienced politician from a country that has traditionally been a transmission belt between Anglo-Saxon and Continental Europe views. He could be seen by larger [NATO] member states as a good compromise solution,” said Ben Schreer, executive director of the Berlin office of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
However, getting the top alliance job is a matter of back-room deals and lobbying to gain the unanimous backing of all 31 members — which doesn’t always favor early candidates.
The NATO chief also needs to get the nod from the United States, the alliance’s most important member. For now, Rutte is drawing a bit of a blank among Washington lawmakers.
“I may have met him, but I don’t recall,” said Republican Senator Mitt Romney. Another key Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham, said: “I don’t know him. Doesn’t ring a bell.”
Democrats aren’t much better informed.
“I do not know him. I have heard his name floated but beyond that I haven’t heard anything else,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen. “I’m interested in the whole range of people who might be considered.”
Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin is one who does know Rutte, saying he has “a good deal of respect for him,” but adding: “I’ve not talked to him recently. Everything I know about him is positive.”
Apart from having a long political track record of guiding NATO through Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, another important consideration is Rutte’s experience in handling Donald Trump, in case the former president makes a comeback in next year’s U.S. elections. (ER: ‘in case’ …)
“Rutte was already there when Trump was around, so that helps,” said one of the officials.
Rutte, a 56-year-old Dutchman who’s been running the EU’s fifth-largest economy for 13 years, has long been rumored to be interested in jumping to NATO given that his career in national politics will end after the country’s November 22 general election. On Sunday, he opened up about his ambition in an interview with radio station Den Haag FM, saying the job of secretary-general “would be interesting as it would offer the chance to contribute for a few years on the international stage in a period of dramatic global changes.”
This was followed by a phone call on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
CONTINUE READING HERE
Anthony Adragna contributed reporting from Washington.
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Featured image: Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images
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Dutch PM (now lame duck PM) Rutte lacks personality and charisma, yet as the 1st politician in Dutch history he managed to be re-elected 4 times.
He is one of Schwab’s Young Global Leaders, so was multiple re-election of this boring non-personality a coincidence?