You might call it the “Daddy strategy”. When Nato chiefs pondered how to handle Donald Trump at their summit in The Hague, they appear to have decided that mere praise and flattery were inadequate for the task. Instead, they turned high diplomacy into the art of calculated subservience.

Just as the Congress of Vienna of 1814-1815 was arranged around glittering balls and concerts – with a symphony conducted by Beethoven himself and the British delegation alone getting through 10,000 bottles of wine – so this summit in The Hague was designed to serve one purpose and one alone: satisfying Mr Trump’s wants, needs and wishes.

If Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, had believed that Mr Trump yearned for 10,000 bottles of vintage, he would have arranged for their supply. Had he thought that Mr Trump wished to meet Beethoven, Mr Rutte would have attempted a resurrection.

As it turned out, the man who became the longest-serving prime minister in Dutch history – and happens to be 58 years old – publicly hailed Mr Trump as “Daddy”.

When the president spoke of Iran and Israel as if they were squabbling children who had to be separated, Mr Rutte helpfully interjected: “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language.” He was rewarded with a self-satisfied smile from the target of the adulation.