Mark Rutte became the longest-serving Dutch prime minister Tuesday, and the leader known by some as “Teflon Mark” because scandals don’t stick to him is showing no sign of slowing despite unrest gripping his nation and his party’s popularity sliding in polls.
Rutte has been in charge for 4,311 days, or almost 12 years, since he first became prime minister in October 2010.
“It’s the greatest job in the world, an unbelievable honor. I must say that there are now a large number of puzzles on my desk, but these things happen,” Rutte said late last month as Dutch politics entered its summer recess.
Rutte, 55, leader of the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, and head of a four-party ruling coalition, said he had no plans to celebrate becoming the longest-serving prime minister, which he called “a footnote,” and said he would not be in the country on the day. While his party has been declining in recent polls, it remains the largest in the splintered Dutch political landscape.
Now he has eclipsed the previous longevity record of 4,310 days in office set by Ruud Lubbers, a Christian Democrat who led the Netherlands from Nov. 4, 1982, until Aug. 22, 1994. Rutte is the second longest-serving elected leader in the 27-nation European Union, trailing only Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
Rutte has co-opted parties from across the political spectrum in his four coalitions that range from a minority coalition that was propped up by support from anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders that took office Oct. 14, 2010, to his current four-party administration.
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