Professor: Rutte can be both NATO leader and Dutch PM, but it’s ill-advised

If outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte is appointed Secretary General of NATO before there is a new Cabinet, Rutte can remain Prime Minister. The position as supreme head of NATO is "not necessarily incompatible" with the office of prime minister, but in practice it is undesirable, said Bert van den Braak, specialist professor of parliamentary history and parliamentary system. "I cannot imagine that this will happen," he claimed.

Overall, no arrangements have been made regarding the possible 'two hats' of a prime minister in the Netherlands, Van den Braak told the ANP. Although the two functions do not clash in theory, Van den Braak nevertheless sees an "impossibility" of combining the two functions. If the outgoing Cabinet has to draw up a new budget soon, including that of defense, it is still difficult for the Prime Minister, who will also become NATO chief, to interfere, he gives as an example. Even if Rutte does not start at NATO until October.

More and more countries are speaking out in favor of Rutte as the new leader of NATO. This week, US President Biden and German Chancellor Scholz expressed their support of Rutte as the successor to Jens Stoltenberg. Rutte's candidacy would now be supported by around two-thirds of NATO member states. All 31 NATO countries must agree on Stoltenberg's successor. It is expected that the final decision will be made on April 4 at the latest.

Van den Braak, however, believes it is more likely that Rutte will resign as Prime Minister as soon as he is appointed. It will then be up to the VVD to find a successor. When Rutte IV was formed, it was agreed that the Ministry of General Affairs (AZ) would belong to the VVD. The AZ is the prime minister's ministry.

This does not mean that VVD minister and party leader Dilan Yeşilgöz will move to Torentje. According to the professor, it could be another VVD minister, but also a VVD MP such as Sophie Hermans or a VVD member from outside the Cabinet or Kamer.

There are no special rules for replacing a prime minister, Van den Braak explained. It is the same as replacing former Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag or former Health Minister Ernst Kuipers, for example. The party to which they belong, in this case, both from the D66, appoints a successor. This successor is appointed by Royal Decree (RD).