When Jens Stoltenberg gave his farewell speech at a hotel in Brussels’ EU quarter last week, he told an anecdote he has told many times before. I will come back to exactly this with Stoltenberg’s repetitions. But first this anecdote, which is about his father, Thorvald, and the advice he gave his son when the opportunity to become Secretary General of NATO arose. He suspected that Jens would end up with a few boring years in Brussels if he agreed. “Not much happens in NATO,” said Thorvald Stoltenberg. FAREWELL: Jens Stoltenberg on a hotel roof in Brussels after his farewell speech. Photo: Simen Ekern / news At the time it was an assessment I wanted to share, I think. When I worked as a journalist in Brussels in the years before Stoltenberg became Secretary General, I cannot remember a single time when I was in NATO headquarters. The dramatic events in which Brussels played a leading role took place primarily in the EU institutions, where Europe’s future was at stake, as Angela Merkel formulated it at one of the first serious summits during the financial crisis. NATO was busy with other things than Europe’s future. Then Russia took the Crimean peninsula, and the world suddenly looked quite different, not least from NATO headquarters. A lot happened there, it turned out. And there was to be more. DEMONSTRATION OF POWER: Jens Stoltenberg (left) is briefed by Admiral Dennis Velez on board the aircraft carrier George HW Bush. Photo: Simen Ekern It has also affected the everyday life of those of us who work as Norwegian correspondents here in the city. With countless interviews with Stoltenberg, even more press conferences, summits, crisis meetings, flag raisings for new member states or visits to aircraft carriers, there has at times been too much Nato in everyday life. It has provided opportunities to observe a man in a position that is quite unique for a politician from Norway. Because it is an important job. But how much influence does a general secretary really have? Studies of decision-making processes in NATO have traditionally not placed enormous importance on the Secretary General. A secretary general in NATO is more secretary than general, it has been said. And in the end, it is the leaders of the big countries who steer the ship where they want. At the same time, it has been particularly clear these years that the leaders of both large and medium-sized countries want quite different things. This is where the Secretary General comes into the picture. Jens Stoltenberg’s efforts to keep NATO united these years is something that is often highlighted. Not least when Stoltenberg is praised by those who again and again – and again and again – have asked him to stay a little longer. The first major challenge for Stoltenberg there was Donald Trump. When the former president threatened to leave Nato at the 2018 summit, it was a real threat to the alliance. MY WAY: Donald Trump often went in a different direction than many European leaders. Photo: Francisco Seco / AP Stoltenberg succeeded in neutralizing the president’s criticism that European countries do not pay enough for their own defence. Instead, he managed to convince Trump that he could use European defense spending – which was now increasing – as proof of Trump’s own excellence. Stoltenberg became one of the few leaders who managed to talk to Trump: A former British ambassador to the United States described Stoltenberg as a master Trump whisperer. “He deliberately adopted a simplistic and servile mode of communication to flatter the egocentric Trump,” says an article in the Oxford journal International affairs. It is meant as praise: the conclusion goes a long way in asserting that it was therefore Stoltenberg personally who ensured that NATO survived the years of Trump. Whether it helped in the long term is probably a bit early to say. Last spring, Trump said that he thought Putin should do “whatever the hell he wants” with the NATO countries that do not spend enough money on their own defense. Stoltenberg has been skilled at talking to other men with big egos as well. Both Hungarian Prime Minister Orban and Turkish President Erdogan have coached important NATO decisions and expansions. Here, too, it can be argued that Stoltenberg’s personal and diplomatic qualities have played important roles. IT IS COMPLICATED: French President Emmanuel Macron and Jens Stoltenberg have not always agreed Photo: Christophe Ena / AP This does not mean that Stoltenberg tours all leaders with the same bravado. It has been interesting to observe the extent to which a man like Emmanuel Macron has provoked Stoltenberg, not least after Macron’s statement that Nato is a “brain-dead alliance”. Not because Stoltenberg has been so clear in his criticism when the cameras are rolling. “We’ll get back to exactly what I think about those statements,” he said in one of the first interviews I did with him after the world had opened up again after the pandemic shutdown. But he has constantly brought up the brain death statement himself, most recently in the closing speech at the hotel in Brussels. There he was also clearer than ever in his criticism of those who believe that Europe must develop a more independent or alternative defense in light of the danger of what may happen after the American election. Here, too, the irritation with Macron seeps through between the lines. The disagreement with Macron has been clear on the question of NATO’s line towards China as well, although the countries eventually agreed to call China a “systemic challenger” already at Joe Biden’s first summit in Brussels in 2021. IN ROME: Stoltenberg meets news in connection with a visit to Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Photo: Frederic GARRIDO-RAMIREZ Stoltenberg has nevertheless been careful not to cause trouble with spontaneous outbursts about what he might think of the member states’ leaders. The ability to stick to the message is another quality that is often highlighted when people talk about Stoltenberg. As the deputy secretary-general he worked with from 2016 to 2019 was quoted as saying this spring: “He sticks to the talking points. He is not a flashy type. He’s Norwegian, for God’s sake!” There is no doubt that he is Norwegian and a little flashy when he speaks. At the beginning of the correspondent period here, I remember we could giggle a bit at the sometimes extremely Norwegian accent, the slightly robotic choreography he shows when he turns from side to side at the lectern to emphasize a point with his hands, or the way he starts sentences with “asså” in Norwegian, before he switches to English. So, this is Russia’s war of aggression. I have had to explain to several foreign colleagues what “asså” means. ASSÅ: Jens Stoltenberg has a characteristic style on the podium. Photo: AFP But he has spoken very precise English despite the accent, also in the rather long press conferences, where the questions can vary to an extreme degree. The ability to say nothing wrong has impressed many in a city where you are used to politicians with big egos who have had to apologize for statements. The price to pay for the precision is that he quite often says the same thing. He is nevertheless extremely skilled at making the audience think then and there that it is the first time he has said exactly this, even though you actually know you have heard it before. Whether it’s talking points about Russia or anecdotes about Thorvald. An outstanding communicator, and a pragmatic negotiator with decisive influence in keeping the alliance together. Could Stoltenberg also influence the big questions about war and peace in a different way? HECTIC: It has been a few travel days in the air for Jens Stoltenberg. Photo: FREDERIC GARRIDO-RAMIREZ “I think that Nato and I could have been even clearer about support for Ukraine earlier,” he said in the last interview I did with him last week. If Ukraine had more weapons and larger military forces, the threshold for a Russian attack would have been higher, he believes. In the past, he has said that it was the inability or willingness to impose a no-fly zone to protect Ukraine from airstrikes that was most difficult for him. “Saying no to that, that Nato can’t do it, I still find it painful,” he said in an interview a year after the invasion. We went for a walk in the park behind the Nato residence where Stoltenberg has lived, a park he called with ill-concealed nostalgia “my Nordmarka in Brussels”. ONE YEAR ON: Jens Stoltenberg in the neighborhood park one year after Russia’s full-scale invasion Photo: Simen Ekern / news He elaborated on the Ukrainian dilemma: “It is an expression of the balancing act we have to do,” he continued. “Find ways to support Ukraine, but at the same time prevent a full-scale war between NATO and Russia”. How successful has the balancing act been? Could Stoltenberg himself have pushed the development more in one direction or the other? If the final answers to that come one fine day, that is one day another Secretary General will be in charge of the running of Nato. The interview in the park at the time, on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, ended with what almost became a ritual these years: That I tried, with a different wording than last time, to get him to reveal that he was going to stay longer . “I will be leaving in the autumn,” replied Stoltenberg. He didn’t. But now he does. On Tuesday it will end, according to plan. And this time it will probably be like that too. Published 29/09/2024, at 22.22
ttn-69
Morna Jens – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
