Prime minister Mark Rutte does not have the financial expertise or the personal clout to claim a leading position in the international community, Jolande Sap, leader of the green party GroenLinks, says in an interview with website nu.nl.

This means the Netherlands is playing an increasingly minor part on the international stage. ‘[Previous prime minister Jan Peter] Balkende did have the profile to take part in international negotiations. Rutte does not, and that is a real shame for the Netherlands,’ Sap told the website.
Both Rutte and finance minister Jan Kees de Jager have problems because of the alliance with Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam PVV.
‘We have a government which is supported by a partner which does not have a foreign policy. That reflects on the position of the cabinet abroad,’ Sap said.
The Telegraaf described Sap’s comments as ‘noteworthy’.