For several months, Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, has been considered to be Jens Stoltenberg’s likely successor. The Norwegian has led NATO since 1 October 2014 and is in his fourth “extra round”. Normally, a general secretary serves for four years, a few have served longer. At the end of February, France, Great Britain, Germany and the United States announced that Mark Rutte is the right man to succeed Stoltenberg. Although the declarations of support for the Dutchman came in a row throughout the spring, they still do not reach the goal. “A few more days” Sources in NATO tell news that an announcement of Rutte as Stoltenberg’s successor “will take a few more days”, but “that it will probably be in place before the summit”. There are now just over three weeks until the NATO summit in Washington DC on 9-11. July, where the alliance’s 75 years will be celebrated. There is no formal process when the defense alliance chooses a secretary-general, except that the formal appointment takes place in the NATO Council, by the defense alliance’s permanent ambassadors. Otherwise, most of it happens behind closed doors. Through talks between the ambassadors, foreign ministers, defense ministers and heads of government. In recent weeks, there has been first a meeting of foreign ministers and now most recently a meeting of defense ministers in the alliance, without an agreement being reached. And it does not look good to have to mark the motto of the defense alliance “one for all and all for one”, if the same alliance is unable to agree on a new commander. Hungary and Romania block It is Hungary and Romania that block the appointment of Rutte. Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis launched himself earlier this year as a candidate for the leadership post. He believes the time has come for the secretary-general to come from one of the “new” member states in the east. Especially when so much is about the defense of NATO’s eastern flank, pushed forward by Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Iohannis’ desire to take over came somewhat as a surprise, because the country’s former foreign minister Mircea Geoana has been Stoltenberg’s second-in-command in recent years. NATO Secretaries General Hastings Lionel Ismay (Great Britain, diplomat and officer) 1952–1957 Paul-Henri Spaak (Belgium, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, central to the creation of NATO’s foundation, the Atlantic Pact) 1957–1961 Dirk U. Stikker (Netherlands, party leader, foreign minister, ambassador) 1961–1964 Manlio Brosio (Italy, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Ambassador) 1964–1971 Joseph Luns (Netherlands, Diplomat, Foreign Minister) 1971–1984 Peter Carrington (Great Britain, Party Leader, Defense Minister, Foreign Minister) 1984–1988 Manfred Wörner (Germany, civil servant, foreign and defense politician, Minister of Defense Only Secretary General to die in office) 1988–1994 Willy Claes (Belgium, Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Deputy Prime Minister, elected to complete Wörner’s term) 1994–1995 Javier Solana (Spain, politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs) 1995–1999 George Robertson (Great Britain, politician, defense minister) 1999–2003 Jaap De Hoop Scheffer (Netherlands, diplomat, party leader, foreign minister) 2004–2009 Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Denmark, party leader, tax and economy minister, prime minister) 2009–2014 Jens Stoltenberg (Norway, finance minister , oil and energy minister, prime minister) 2014-dd Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has several political hens to pick with Mark Rutte. The two have been in conflict several times, particularly in the context of the EU. When Hungary wanted to introduce what was described as an anti-LGBT law, Rutte stated that he would “bring Hungary to its knees”. It was received particularly badly at the Prime Minister’s office in Budapest. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also raised his objections, but he declared himself satisfied with Rutte after a meeting in April. Jens Stoltenberg and Mark Rutte have known each other for several years through various political contexts. Photo: ODD ANDERSEN / AFP Orban makes demands That Hungary trains joint political processes is known both from the EU and NATO. The country ended up being the last to approve Sweden as a NATO member, even though it was Turkey that primarily put itself on the back foot. But Orban may be about to turn around. Last week, the prime minister said in an interview with the pro-government news website Mandiner that he can accept Rutte as the new NATO chief, under certain conditions. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis must first make it clear that he is no longer a candidate. Orban has backed Iohannis, even though Romania has chosen a more tentative path than Hungary. So far, Iohannis has not been willing to withdraw as an opposing candidate, but that will happen one of these days, according to TV 2. Orban demands that Rutte must apologize for earlier insulting statements”, both about Hungary and Orban. In addition, Rutte, as possible new NATO chief, must promise that Hungary does not need to participate in military operations in Ukraine that are aimed at Russia. As of now, no one is demanding, planning or preparing something like this from NATO. There is also no obligation to participate in military missions outside one’s own territory. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Prime Minister Viktor Orban this week to sort out various disagreements, especially around Ukraine. Photo: Marton Monus / Reuters On a charm visit to Budapest Outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Budapest on Wednesday. The NATO chief promised there that Hungary does not need to contribute either money, material or personnel to NATO’s support for Ukraine. In return, Orban promised not to block the long-term support for Ukraine, which Stoltenberg is trying to put in place. Hungary is a loyal and contributing member of NATO, emphasized the Hungarian Prime Minister. Jens Stoltenberg did not want to say anything to the press if he had also discussed his possible successor with Orban, so that the alliance can pick out a new boss. Although Mark Rutte and Viktor Orban strongly disagree politically, Rutte is considered to have some of the same qualities as Stoltenberg. Good at talking to and handling opponents. Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP Finland’s president: No alternative Finland’s president Alexander Stubb said on Thursday that he is quite certain that Mark Rutte will be NATO’s next secretary general. Stubb told the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that he does not see any alternatives to Rutte. On Monday, there will be a summit meeting in the EU, where the heads of state and government of the EU countries will meet, including Rutte and Orban. The expectations on the NATO side are that Orban can get the assurances he demands from Rutte, similar to those he got from Stoltenberg. Whether he gets the personal apology remains to be seen. Jens Stoltenberg’s time as head of NATO may be coming to an end. He has tried to get home to Norway several times, but has been persuaded to stay. Photo: Virginia Mayo / AP Booked a moving vehicle? When news asks Jens Stoltenberg on Friday afternoon – following the NATO defense minister’s meeting – whether he has arranged for a moving truck in September or whether he will wait until Mark Rutte has become his official successor, he laughs and replies: – My focus is on the summit and getting things in place important decisions. So the moving process should go quite smoothly and easily. That’s not what I’m worried about. – Mark Rutte is a brilliant person with a lot of experience, which is useful in many contexts. So I am completely confident that Nato will have a good successor in place in good time. Jens Stoltenberg – second longest serving in NATO Jens Stoltenberg is already the second longest serving secretary general in NATO’s 74-year history. Most of the predecessors have served the four-year period for which they are initially appointed. Only the Dutchman Joseph Luns will have a longer time as chief than Stoltenberg when he resigns. Luns ruled the defense alliance between 1971 and 1984. The last two secretaries-general before Stoltenberg, Dutch Jaap De Hoop Scheffer and Danish Anders Fogh Rasmussen, served for five years. Jens Stoltenberg took office as NATO chief on 1 October 2014. His term expired in autumn 2018, but has since been extended four times. Already in 2017, Stoltenberg was asked if he would consider extending his term by two years, to autumn 2020. To which he agreed. In the spring of 2019, the question came up again: This time whether he could sit for another two years, until 1 October 2022. This time, too, he agreed. Just over half a year before he was to return home to Oslo and take up his role as governor of the central bank, Russia went on a full invasion of neighboring Ukraine. And the question came up again: Could he stay in the chief’s chair a little longer? Stoltenberg resigned from his job at Norges Bank and stayed in Brussels. The end date was set for 30 September 2023. Several, including the American president, wanted Stoltenberg to remain in the secretary-general job for two more years. That it ended with one is due to France. It is well known in diplomatic circles that the French and the French president are not quite as enthusiastic about the former Norwegian prime minister as, for example, the American one. It turned out that the NATO countries were struggling to agree on a successor and Stoltenberg was asked if he could manage the NATO ship for one more year. He said no, with the message that he wanted to go home to Norway. But when US President Joe Biden, during the meeting in the White House in the summer of 2023, urgently asked him to stay put, Stoltenberg relented. New end date is 30 September 2024. Published 15.06.2024, at 07.50
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Hungary can accept Mark Rutte as NATO chief – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
