As Rutte has been consistent over 10 years, so have I followed his tenure as PM over the same period. His favoritism to the British Tories has been clear over a decade. As I watch British and US news outlets, I see and hear in real time the changes in rhetoric. All coincidental .. I don't think so. Same with the press briefings from the White House during the Obama administration of major events, here at home Mark Rutte followed suite. On the same page ... Rutte has heard a lot of criticism the last two years from France and Germany ... separation in rhetoric and EU policy. I don''t think these three leaders are on friendly terms anymore. Rutte looking for support to the Northern countries. Rutte is weak on foreign policy as he follows his instincts ... or business interests of his corporate supporters.

I learned to do more than just criticize PM Mark Rutte when he personally moved to right-wing xenophobic rhetoric to get the votes from the groups supporting Geert Wilders. Election result was his sustained goal. I could accept the opposition from someone like Pim Fortuyn, but the VVD clan of Geert Wilders, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Rita Verdonk  and today Mark Rutte are despicable on refugees and asylum seekers. His covert support for terror groups in Syria in step with the UK and the US is abhorrent, truly criminal.

In the 1970s I participated in the elections to Workers Council (Ondernemingsraad) in a large multinational with original HQ in Eindhoven. The unions of FNV and CNV couldn't quite appreciate that. However Den Uyl and his policy was a bit unrealistic for me. Now most Dutch parties have moved so far to populism and to the right, I find myself once again in a minority position. That's fine with me. So was I during the late 60s and the Vietnam War.

'Sapere aude'