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

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

Apparently he's a titch under six-five, which doesn't seem THAT tall to me, but then my husband is six-three. Six-five is about at the bottom of my "whoa, he's not just tall but really tall" reaction. It may be a "taller than anyone I've dated" reaction (remind me sometime to tell you about the six-four redheaded Heinlein fan).

[jinasphinx.livejournal.com]

Thanks for these photos; I'm always entertained by this sort of thing (e.g., Kelly McGillis standing in a trench next to Tom Cruise).

Thanks!

[walkitout]

ethelmay: Your husband is TALL! But I can see where living with him would shift your perspective. I'm a little frightened to hear about a 6'4" Heinlein fan (red hair no less, thus possibly a son of one of the twins! <-- joke about the fictional red haired twins), but intrigued.

jinasphinx: Funny you should say that. I realized _after_ I had posted it that if it had had virtually any other topic, it would have been linkbait, but there's probably no one on the planet looking for pictures of Rutte standing next to other world leaders trying not to look _quite_ so tall.

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/

Re: Thanks!

[(Anonymous)]

Don't be so sure! News footage of him standing next to Australia's Tony Abbot immediately had me reaching for google and asking 'how tall is Mark Rutte?' Thanks for providing me with the answer!

Re: Thanks!

[walkitout]

You are welcome and thank you for commenting! Sorry about the delay in unscreening; I was on vacation.