Farewell, Mark Rutte, the Tiggerish Dutch prime minister

Most politicians EUlike to project an air of sober earnestness. A job prized by bright, sociable people thus ends up looking like hard work. Not for Mark Rutte, the perma-cheerful prime minister of the Netherlands since 2010. In the manner of Tigger, Winnie-the-Pooh’s sidekick, the equally elongated Dutchman has bounced from one political chore to the next with relentless aplomb. Whether riding a bike to the office under The Hague’s leaden skies, or explaining (again!) to an crowd why the Dutch would not pay for some new Brussels scheme, then embarking on yet another campaign in a country blessed with over a dozen political parties: all of it could be done with a spring in the step and a smile for the cameras. Now Europe is to lose its chief cheerful-leader. Soon after his fourth coalition collapsed, on July 10th he announced he will leave office after elections due in November. But even the unexpected derailing of Mr Rutte’s political career failed to dent his chirpy demeanour for long.Tigger and Mr Rutte share another trait: it is impossible to discern what either might want to achieve as Dutch prime minister. That is no huge problem for a fictional stuffed tiger. But for a man who has held the job for longer than anyone else (and who will probably stay on well into 2024 as caretaker) it does rather raise questions. Other European leaders who have dominated their national polities for over a decade have left behind some form of “-ism”. Thatcherism looked to shrink the state, Blairism to combine the best of the right and left, Merkelism to keep options open for as long as possible. The very idea of Ruttism is no more conceivable than Tigger attending a funeral.