In the year that Mark Rutte became Prime Minister, the government spent 1.0% of our gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. In his last full year of government, 2023, this was also 1.0%. Only when the NATO job came into view (in 2024) did defense spending increase to 1.5%. That is the legacy this government has to deal with. The Rutte 4 cabinet wanted to spend more on defense, but that did not work out. Due to the extreme tightness on the labor market.
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