Shame on Rutte, von der Leyen, and Kallas

Claudi Pérez
El País (Archived)

The European response to the intervention in Iran calls into question European leadership in Brussels: in the institutions and in NATO.

Is the triad of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; and Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, the worst leadership in Brussels in decades?

It is quite possible that the answer is yes, at the worst possible moment, with the world trapped in a macabre dance, in a glut of armed conflicts that resembles a global civil war. We saw ample evidence of this poor quality in the trade negotiations with Trump.

In the policy of appeasement with Trump, which has not worked and amounts to a kind of blissful subservience. And in Europe's disgraceful stance regarding the genocide in Gaza. Only the support for Ukraine is spared. But the US and Israeli attack on Iran, which has turned geopolitics and geoeconomics upside down, takes the cake.

The following Monday, Rutte emerged from the attacks with an interview on Fox News in which he once again displayed the boundless sycophancy he has shown toward Trump from the very beginning. The offensive was “crucial” for the security of some unknown entity. He noted “broad support” for the operation from Europe. He praised Trump as “leader of the free world,” in one of those obsequious displays that have made him infamous. And he asserted that NATO had to be “prepared to deter.” It is said that in those days, the setbacks he suffered at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels were memorable.

Since then, he has done nothing but qualify his statements and back down. It is practically out of the question that NATO will get involved in that hornet's nest, despite Trump's usual bluster. There is no appetite among the major countries, not even among the smaller ones, which are much more accommodating to Washington. European public opinion has spoken loud and clear. The economic effects are already here, with a loss of purchasing power, an economic slowdown, and formidable stress in the energy market. Berlin, London, and Paris have been decisive (Paris less so, but that's Macron for you) after a hesitant start. Spain was decisive from day one. Rutte's credibility, in short, is at rock bottom.

Von der Leyen covered herself in glory with that “Europe can no longer be the guardian of the old global order, a world that has disappeared and will not return.” Her unbridled Atlanticism and pro-Israel stances had already led to tremendous errors. Here, she had to contradict herself in just 48 hours. At the moment, her credibility is close to Rutte's levels.

There remained Kaja Kallas, a lightweight compared to Rutte and von der Leyen, even to her predecessor, Josep Borrell, who managed to cultivate a dense and powerful voice as head of European diplomacy. The Brussels leadership's ease in stepping on giant banana peels has also affected Kallas, whose obsession with Russia affects her positions on other agendas. This Monday, she received mixed reviews. A NATO intervention to protect the Strait of Hormuz “is outside the area of action of the Atlantic Alliance”: Bravo, that's right. Immediately afterward, Kallas suggested that there are “member states willing to contribute,” either in a coalition of volunteers or in Operation Aspides, to guarantee the security of that strait, absolutely key to the global energy market: a mistake; in any case, that will be much later, when the region stabilizes. Germany, which has also put its foot in it on this matter with Friedrich Merz unable to defend Spain in the Oval Office, has made Europe's position clear. The war between the US, Israel, and Iran “is not NATO's war,” a spokesperson for the Chancellery stated emphatically. There is no mandate for the Atlantic Alliance to intervene in Hormuz; Germany “will not participate” militarily in that operation. Starmer says the same in the UK. And Macron, albeit with calculated ambiguity due to his interests in the region. And Meloni, one of Trump's major allies in Europe. And of course, Spain says the same, from day one and more emphatically than any other country.

Trump could be described with a Shakespearean quote: “Here there is no darkness, only ignorance.” Rutte, Von der Leyen, and Kallas are perfectly suited to a warning from Don Quixote to Sancho: “If you govern badly, the blame will be yours, and the shame mine.”

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