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| - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has long relied on an unflashy, managerial style, and never more so than during the coronavirus pandemic. But while it may not set political pulses alight, it has achieved the extraordinary feat of winning a fourth term in office after nearly a decade in power. It's coupled with a public image of a "Mr Normal" that he reinforced by riding his trademark bike to vote in election on Wednesday. Accused by opponents of lacking vision, Rutte must now however find a way to help rebuild the Dutch economy after the coronavirus pandemic. "Rutte has very intelligently played his role as leader of the nation, as the crisis manager," Koen Damhuis, a political expert at the University of Utrecht, told AFP. "He has really tried to minimise political conflicts while saying we are in this crisis together -- but of course with him as leader. And that has borne fruit." Rutte's career appropriately started out not as some political activist but as a human resources manager with Anglo-Dutch consumer giant Unilever. That included a stint at its peanut butter division, Calve, and appears to have contributed to the smooth style he affects while running coalitions. His political adaptability has seen him rise quickly through the ranks of the liberal, pro-business VVD (People's Party for Freedom and Democracy) after leaving Unilever, becoming party leader in 2006. Rutte became prime minister in 2010 and used his killer political instincts and affable personality to build three coalition governments. However Rutte himself admitted on Wednesday that "not everything has gone well in the last 10 years". In January he and his government were forced to resign over a scandal in which thousands of parents -- many from ethnic minority backgrounds -- were falsely accused of childcare subsidy fraud. He had been governing in a caretaker capacity since then. Opponents have accused him of a lack of vision and of dodging scandals. "We call him the 'Teflon' prime minister," Jesse Klaver, leader of the GroenLinks (Green-Left) party, told AFP before the election. "I think he's a great political talent, but he uses his talent to stay in power himself." 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's talks on a coronavirus rescue fund for the bloc. But his hard line on Europe has played well with voters at home, as has his image. A self-described "man of habit and tradition", Rutte 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 perennial bachelorhood sparked media speculation about his sexuality a few years ago but he has deflected questions, saying merely that he is "happy" with his life. The youngest of seven children, his father Izaak was a trader, while his mother Mieke was the sister of Izaak's first wife, who died in a Japanese internment camp in World War II. He won plaudits during the pandemic when it emerged he had not visited his dying mother until hours before her death last year, because he was following the same rules as the rest of the country. "He rides on a bicycle. This is a portrait of a normal guy'," political analyst Andre Krouwel of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam told AFP. Rutte meanwhile indicated that he was not ready to break the habit of governing the country. "I have the energy for another 10 years," he beamed as the election results came in. dk-amo/lc
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