Soon after his fourth coalition collapsed, Mark Rutte announced he will leave office after elections due in November. But even the unexpected derailing of his political career failed to dent his chirpy demeanour for long
Tigger and Mr Rutte share another trait: it is impossible to discern what either might want to achieve as Dutch prime minister. That is no huge problem for a fictional stuffed tiger. But for a man who has held the job for longer than anyone else it does rather raise questions. Other European leaders who have dominated their national polities for over a decade have left behind some form of “-ism”.
If Mr Rutte has a guiding principle, it is constant ideological flexibility. Here is a man well versed in the art of listening to other people’s opinions before declaring that they had been his own all along. Perhaps that is inevitable in a country where no fewer than seven parties each at present command 10% or more in the polls. The coalitions needed to engineer workable majorities and then hold them together work better if their central figure doesn’t believe he knows best.
Mr Rutte painted his lack of vision as a feature, not a bug. He liked to quote Helmut Schmidt, a no-nonsense German chancellor who advised that politicians with visions should consult a doctor. The upshot has been 13 years of an administration that has plodded through over half the 21st century so far with much pragmatism yet little discernible purpose. This was management-by-committee on a national scale. Problems were dealt with as they arose.
Mr Rutte’s amiable demeanour masks a killer political instinct, however: long is the list of former rivals who found themselves facing early retirement. A master tactician, he happily drifted around the political spectrum, including to its outer reaches when needed. His maiden government got support from Geert Wilders, a migrant-bashing demagogue whose rhetoric Mr Rutte later borrowed.
But it is at home that Mr Rutte will be remembered—or, more likely, not much. Perhaps being forgettable will turn out to be Ruttism’s elusive central feature, and its most appealing. For there are worse things for a polity than to be led by a cheerful, pragmatic and dedicated leader. The Dutch seem content: seven in ten think the situation in their country is good, compared with three in ten in France.
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