Mark Rutte emerges as NATO’s next Secretary General with support from Washington, London and two-thirds of allies

Mark Rutte wants to become the next Secretary General of NATO and he has several options to achieve this. is she sole official candidate And the official who is pushing his options in the corridors of the organization’s headquarters already speaks publicly as he will have to do if ultimately elected and, above all, he has the support of two-thirds of the coalition’s members. The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, who came together in a hurry this Thursday to explain it to Bucharest, addressed the possibility of an alternative emerging.

The current premier, Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, will leave office in September, after three extensions and a longer tenure than his predecessors. NATO plans to make its replacement official at the Washington summit in July, symbolizing 70th anniversary of military alliance The most powerful and longest in history, but everyone wants it to be just a process and celebration and a decision this spring. This can be anticipated in any meeting held by the foreign or defense ministers between April and May. And, if nothing strange happens, a (acting) Dutch Prime Minister will be elected.

Rutte wants this position and has said it loudly. So much so that he had to apologize after some time for proceeding like this. In the organization things are done differently, with more discretion, with consultations, personal contacts, tests. Over the years, many other names have also been heard, including the former British Defense Secretary. ben wallaceWho left office after seeing he had no career path to Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. Passing by some Baltic leaders, including the Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kailash, now wanted and captured by Moscow. Or the Danish Prime Minister. Not to mention the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen,

But according to allied sources, Rutte is the only real one. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has shown his interest, and the country says the Eastern countries should be kept in mind forever, but the Allied diplomacy is not aware that they are actually running a campaign. Before there could be any doubt, the great capitals, the most powerful governments, wanted to make it clear who their alternative was and Iohannis stood no chance. He knows this, but in the complex world of international relations and positions to be distributed, it never hurts to hear your name or have someone do you a favor. They have no choice in this career, but maybe in others.

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The route has been progressing very well for several months and has “widespread support”. like media political This week their number is up to 20 out of 31 members, a figure that matches what various delegations have said. Spain will be one of them. Since then there has been much speculation about the possibility of the post returning to a southern country. javier solana He was the last person to hold it. And above all she was a woman. But the sources consulted said that Rutte is what he is. feels good everywhere, from an ideological and personal point of view, has a solid profile, vast executive experience, medium-sized country, perfect English and an impeccable Atlanticist and Anglophile history. He will be the third Dutch Secretary General. And the fourth consecutive from a Northern European country.

It has long been no secret in the corridors of headquarters that they have the most options, but from Washington and London and Berlin and Paris they want to reinforce that idea and send a message.

The election is delicate and Rutte is already playing with extreme caution. His language and attitude during the world’s most important security conference in Munich last week showed that he was preparing. Russian pressureBack Navalny’s murderfear of and Donald Trump’s return, He marked that appointment as he is marking the continental agenda. But Rutte said in all his interventions that we have to stop whining, complaining and exaggerating and accept that we have to work with whoever is in the White House. He knows that if he’s elected and Trump comes back, he’ll have to deal with them. And the best way is with the left hand, as Stoltenberg has demonstrated over the years.

“chairman biden “Strongly supports Prime Minister Rutte’s candidacy to become the next Secretary General of NATO,” a senior US source confirmed to Reuters today. “The alliance, as a whole, has serious defense and security credentials and will ensure that the alliance remains strong and ready to defend and deter,” local media reported, citing sources in the executive. Sunak, A NATO spokesperson also confirmed this afternoon, “Chancellor Scholz supports the appointment of Mark Rutte as the new Secretary General of NATO: With his vast experience, his great knowledge of security policy and his strong diplomatic skills, he will be an excellent Are candidates.” .German Government from Berlin.

In recent days the German press has published that Scholz did not view von der Leyen’s prospects favorably. In that situation. On the one hand, he explained, because supporting someone who is already president of the Commission so that he can repeat, even if he is not from your party, is one thing, but encouraging rivals from other latitudes is another. . And second, he added, because he thought his position on Russia was too harsh, something that would take its toll after the war in Ukraine ended and maintaining relations with Moscow, according to him. die welt,

and for nowHe is alone and obviously the favourite, And the support of North America is essential, the only one really important. But in NATO things happen by consensus and there are two countries which will be difficult to convince. First, turkiye, who has already made it clear that he wants guarantees from Rutte that he will remain impartial and not take sides in the recurring disputes with Greece and Cyprus. The Dutchman, as prime minister in the EU, was critical of the rule of law, but at the same time he has always been a supporter of it. Politics And immigration deals, no matter how controversial.

the second stone is Hungary And so. Holland was one of the most demanding viktor orban (He and Rutte are the two deans of the European Council, both with 14 years’ experience) and the one who has most promoted the rule of law mechanisms that have allowed stop money to budapest, Orbán has been launched without any filters, and as he continues to delay Sweden’s entry into the coalition for the same reasons, he will have no problems hindering his candidacy.