Rutte won't comment on his successors, he says in last interview as Dutch Prime Minister

Just before King Willem-Alexander swore in the new Schoof I Cabinet, Mark Rutte gave his last interview as Dutch Prime Minister to RTL Nieuws. He is grateful to have served the Netherlands for nearly 14 years and is ready to hand over the baton to Dick Schoof. Rutte will continue to follow Dutch politics in the news, he said. “I remain a political junkie. But I am not going to comment on my successors. Jan Peter Balkende has set a fantastic standard in that respect,” Rutte said.

“It really is a special day. When Dick Schoof is sworn in at 10:00 a.m., it is really over. That’s good. I’m happy that Dick is taking over. But when you’ve done it for so long, this really is a moment,” Rutte said. “I am very fond of all my colleagues and everyone I have worked with. I will miss them very much.”

The broadcaster asked Rutte if he was proud of his time as Prime Minister. “Proud is not the right word. I am especially grateful that I have been able to do this for so long. I hope that I have been able to add something at certain moments,” he said.

Rutte will leave a letter for his successor, calling it “a beautiful tradition,” and then go on holiday. “Nothing at all for a few weeks. Rest. Read a lot. Think about where I’m going to have my cup of coffee in the morning. Call friends who might say: we have a job, so we don’t have time for you right now. Maybe visit some cities. I notice that I am a bit physically exhausted after so long, also because I can now really let it go.” After a few weeks of holiday, Rutte will start his new job as the Secretary General of NATO.

“We have a beautiful country,” Rutte said. “Let us continue to be there for each other. That makes us so special that we look out for each other in this country.”

Rutte officially said goodbye to the Netherlands in a televised speech on Sunday.