Standing next to Rutte

[walkitout]

Short form: Don't do it, if you're an Important Person. He seems to be basically nice about it, with a tendency to tilt his head and otherwise reduce his remarkable height (even for a Dutch man of his age, he's on the tall side). And photographers do their damnedest to reduce the startling height difference between Rutte and, well, everyone else.

But just don't stand next to him, if you can possibly help it. The US Presidential history of photos in chairs is clearly helpful:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark_Rutte_Barack_Obama.jpg

In this on the photographer tilted the camera, to reduce the impact of the height difference between Merkel and Rutte, with Katainen benefiting as well.

http://atlanticsentinel.com/2012/07/finland-netherlands-block-bailout-fund-expansion/angela-merkel-jyrki-katainen-mark-rutte/

Here, Rutte is leaning backwards _and_ tilting his head forward -- that would give me a serious back ache if I did it for any length of time. I hope Monti was grateful.

http://www.iol.co.za/business/international/monti-decree-keeps-italy-afloat-1.1193067

Here, not only are Orban and Rutte seated, but Orban is bolt upright, while Rutte slouches backwards.

http://www.2space.net/news/article/361238-1307632801/

But there's not much you can do in situations like this:

http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/04/06/poetin-pleit-voor-echt-partnerschap-in-brief-aan-nederlandse-volk/

(Which is what caught my attention.)

Or this:

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/5jaioWXx6wn/Dutch+Prime+Minister+Rutte+Visits+Germany/PMlxO0kgVC5/Mark+Rutte

ETA: You are not the first person to notice the similarity in appearance and demeanor between Stephen Colbert and Mark Rutte. Altho Rutte talks _much much_ faster.

ETAYA: Finally found one of Rutte and Obama standing from the Chicago NATO thing in the summer of 2012.

http://bigstory.ap.org/content/anders-fogh-rasmussen-barack-obama-mark-rutte

Comments

Re: Thanks!

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

His whole family has red hair (and there are one or two engineers among them, I believe). I don't think any twins, though. This is what he looked like at his second wedding, a few years ago: http://www.flickr.com/photos/krafft/3999372780/in/set-72157622556259010/