Two senior NATO officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal matters, said that, after intensive discussions, more than 20 NATO allies have expressed their readiness to support Dutch PM Mark Rutte’s candidacy to become the next NATO secretary-general later this year, on Wednesady, the 21st of February, reports Politico.
Rutte, who has been running for the job since November, is the only candidate nominated among the alliance’s 31 member governments, officials said.
NATO countries choose the secretary-general “by consensus”,
according to Politico, so Rutte must secure the support of all countries. Although discussions are still ongoing, the officials said that Rutte’s candidacy is becoming increasingly popular.
Pressure is mounting on NATO members to endorse Rutte before the leaders’ summit in Washington in July. He will succeed Jens Stoltenberg, who has led NATO since 2014.
Although US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith has said that allies should aim to complete the selection process for NATO Secretary General in the first quarter of this year, some
ten allies are reportedly still holding back from backing Rutte for various reasons.
Turkey, for example, has asked Rutte to show less favouritism to EU countries in NATO, while Hungary has persistent disagreements with Rutte over criticism of its democratic backsliding.
It remains unclear whether the Baltic countries support Rutte’s candidacy, given their insistence on more political support for Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
Although Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has expressed interest in the post of NATO leader, officials say she is not a candidate because she has not put herself forward. The same applies to Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, who also expressed interest last year.
A US official said on Wednesday that US President Joe Biden is backing the Dutch PM’s candidacy to be the next NATO Secretary General, which is likely to influence more allies to back Rutte’s candidacy.
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