Rutte needs to hype the ‘China threat’ to justify Nato nations boosting military spending, returning the welfare state to the warfare state
Mark Rutte has some daddy issues. The Trump-endearment of the Nato secretary general has reached unprecedented cringe levels, even by the usually unseemly standards of the shameless sycophants of the American imperium in Brussels.
He has repeatedly called US President Donald Trump “daddy”, both during and after the latest Nato summit in The Hague. Indeed, his subsequent clarification to the press was worse, thereby making Trump the official Daddy of Nato.
It all started after Trump showed frustration and used an expletive, calling out Israel and Iran for threatening the ceasefire he has imposed on them.
“We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing,” he told reporters.
When the two men sat down, Rutte interjected, “Daddy has to use tough language.”
Afterwards, reporters asked him to clarify. Reaching new, bizarre heights, he doubled down on his kowtowing by comparing Trump and Europe to the relationship between a daddy and his child.
“What I said is that sometimes, in Europe, I hear sometimes countries saying, ‘Hey, Mark, will the US stay with us?’,” Rutte said. “And I said that sounds a little bit like a small child asking his daddy, ‘Hey, are you still staying with the family?’”
Rutte’s campaign of flattery – to overcome the Nato scepticism of the Trump administration – seems to be working. When Trump returned to the White House, his aides reportedly played the 2010 song “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” by R&B singer Usher.
And commenting on Rutte, Trump said: “He did it very affectionately. ‘Daddy, you’re my daddy’ … He likes me. If he doesn’t, I’ll let you know, I’ll come back, and I’ll hit him hard.”
Rutte’s self-abasement probably comes easy to a career politician in Europe. But maybe our man-child deserves more credit for serving a higher purpose.
That was spelled out in an ingratiating message he sent Trump just before the Nato meeting. It read like something from the satirical Onion magazine, but Bloomberg and the Financial Times have confirmed it was authentic.
“Donald, you have driven us to a really, really important moment for America and Europe, and the world,” he wrote.
“You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done. It was not easy but we’ve got them all signed on to 5 per cent! Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win.”
That 5 per cent is the key, which will replace the old 2 per cent of GDP on military spending by each Nato country.
Member states have agreed to go for American-style military Keynesianism at the expense of its long-standing welfare state model. Or perhaps we can say that Europe is reverting to its old warfare state of centuries past.
But while most ordinary European citizens will object to that, real decisions are made in Brussels, whose voting procedures are a bit like the US electoral college, which ultimately decides presidential elections over the popular votes.
To get that 5 per cent, you need to scare people into panic and subservience. But Russia doesn’t cut it any more; its own propaganda notwithstanding, Nato clearly could contain Moscow’s expansionism.
So, you need to add China to the mix, even though it is on the other side of the world and has never expressed a desire to invade Europe other than with electric cars and solar panels.
Max Klymenko, a UK-based legal and corporate consultant with a YouTube following of 2.88 million subscribers, asked a random forum participant of the rank and file from every Nato country to name the biggest threat to Europe. Many named Russia, a few called out Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, the US and corruption. Only the very last one cited China.
But Rutte keeps insisting Beijing is ramping up military build-up to “do some stuff” to Taiwan, and Russia could join in.
