黑料社

THE HAGUE 鈥� Regularly seen riding his bike to work, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is hoping voters add to his 10 years in the saddle next week.

The liberal leader, 54, has sought to project an image of normality, stability and frugality during his time in office, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.

Critics however dub him 鈥淭eflon鈥� Mark for his ability to dodge scandals, while in Europe he鈥檚 known as 鈥淢r No鈥� for his opposition to spending.

Opinion polls suggest that Rutte and his liberal VVD (People鈥檚 Party for Freedom and Democracy) are on course to head another coalition government.

鈥淗e rides on a bicycle. This is a portrait of a normal guy鈥� a leader of a 鈥楶eople鈥檚 Party鈥�,鈥� political analyst Andre Krouwel of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam told AFP.

鈥淗e鈥檚 not coming in a big limousine or an expensive car with a driver opening doors. He doesn鈥檛 need it.

鈥淚n the Netherlands you don鈥檛 need to show power through all these kinds of symbols of wealth. People like this kind of humility.鈥�

鈥楾eflon prime minister鈥�

A former human resources manager with Anglo-Dutch consumer giant Unilever, Rutte went into politics with the liberal, pro-business VVD and rose to become party leader in 2006.

Rutte became prime minister in 2010 and has used his killer political instincts and affable personality to build three coalition governments, having also come first in elections in 2012 and 2017.

But opponents have accused him of a lack of vision and of poaching their most popular policies.

鈥淲e call him the 鈥楾eflon鈥� prime minister,鈥� Jesse Klaver, leader of the GroenLinks (Green-Left) party, told AFP. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 have an idea of his own, he can go with the flow.

鈥淚 think he鈥檚 a great political talent, but he uses his talent to stay in power himself instead of doing the best for the country and the European Union.鈥�

Within the EU, Rutte is a divisive figure, especially among southern European countries. His insistence on frugality angered them during the 2010s eurozone debt crisis and last year鈥檚 talks on a coronavirus rescue fund for the bloc.

But the mud finally stuck on the Teflon premier this January. He and his government were forced to resign over a scandal in which thousands of parents 鈥� many from ethnic minority backgrounds 鈥� were falsely accused of childcare subsidy fraud.

鈥楳ark doesn鈥檛 like change鈥�

In typical style, Rutte turned up on his bike for his resignation press conference, just as he does for the cabinet鈥檚 coronavirus crisis meetings.

Even more typically, he stayed on as caretaker prime minister until the elections as if nothing had changed.

Rutte himself is a self-described 鈥渕an of habit and tradition鈥�. He has lived his whole life in The Hague, where he lives in the same flat he bought after graduating, drives a second-hand Saab when not cycling, and volunteers as a teacher.

His bachelorhood sparked media speculation about his sexuality a few years ago but he has deflected questions, saying merely that he was 鈥渉appy鈥� with his life.

The youngest of seven children, his father Izaak was a trader, while his mother Mieke was the sister of Izaak鈥檚 first wife, who died in a Japanese internment camp in World War II.

Rutte initially wanted to be a concert pianist, before joining Unilever and then entering politics.

His public image was summed up by his regular hairdresser, when asked what style the premier wanted when he recently received his first post-lockdown haircut.

鈥淢ark doesn鈥檛 like change, he always wants the same thing,鈥� Marco Rimmelzwaan, who has been cutting Rutte鈥檚 hair for the last 15 years, told Dutch media.