In his farewell speech this Sunday, the veteran Dutch prime minister urged his country to support Ukraine and called for cooperation within the EU and NATO, before a new government takes over the Netherlands in two days.
“It is crucial that our country is integrated into the European Union and the I’LL TAKE. Together we are stronger than alone. Especially now,” he said this Sunday Rutte, 57, from his office in The Hague. After leading Netherlands for 14 years, the Dutch politician will take his experience in consensus-building to Brussels, where he will take on the role of new secretary general of NATOat the end of this year.
The outgoing prime minister stressed the need to continue supporting Ukraine, “for peace there and security here.” The new government, expected to take office on Tuesday, has pledged to maintain assistance. But the far-right populist Geert Wilderswhose party won the largest block of seats in last year’s electionshas expressed pro-Russian views and Kremlin supporters applauded his victory at the polls.
Rutte takes stock of his time at the head of the Government of the Netherlands
Rutte described the MH17 tragedy in 2014 like “maybe the most drastic and emotional event” during his tenure. The airliner was shot down over eastern Ukraine while traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 196 citizens of the Netherlands. A Dutch court sentenced two Russians and a Ukrainian supporter of Moscow in 2022 for his participation in the downing of the Boeing 777.
Known for cycling to meetings and his dedication to politics, Rutte highlighted the positive attributes of your country. “There is no war here, you can be who you are, we are prosperous,” he said in the 12-minute speech he gave this Sunday to close his long period as prime minister in the Netherlands.
During his speech, Rutte also acknowledged that there were low moments during his tenure, including a scandal involving child benefit investigations in which thousands of parents were wrongly labeled as fraudsters and led to the dissolution of his third coalition government in early 2021.
Wearing a white shirt with several of the top buttons undone, Rutte said his time in office had added some “gray hair and wrinkles” to its appearance.
