The candidacy of is becoming more and more concrete Mark Rutte as next secretary of NATO. With the green light also coming from Slovakia and above all fromHungarythe outgoing Dutch prime minister is close to taking over Jens Stoltenberg, current head of the Atlantic Alliance. Stoltenberg himself explained that he supports the Rutte option, underlining how the Alliance is now one step away from reaching a decision on his successor.
The Rutte hypothesis as NATO secretary takes off
Rutte”he is a very strong candidate. He has a lot of experience as prime minister, is a close friend and colleague“, said Stoltenberg. In quick succession, Hungary’s approval also arrived. The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that, after the recent agreement with NATO not to have to join allied activities in Ukrainehas decided to support the former Dutch leader as the next secretary general of the Alliance.
“With Prime Minister Orbán’s announcement today I think it is obvious that we are very close to a conclusion. I firmly believe that the Alliance will soon decide who my successor will be“, Stoltenberg said, directly from Washington, in a press conference together with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. We remind you that Stoltenberg’s mandate expires on October 1st, and that the 32 NATO member states must elect his successor by consensus. In addition to Rutte, the Romanian President also ran Klaus Iohannis.
Stoltenberg’s successor
Budapest’s decision should be underlined. Hungary has essentially lifted its veto on Mark Rutte as the next NATO chief, after the outgoing Dutch prime minister gave a written guarantee that he would not force the country to take part in the military alliance’s new plans to provide support to the Ukraine. As explained by theAssociated PressRutte’s reassurances, contained in a letter sent to Orban, have removed a major obstacle to the possibility of seeing him as the next secretary of NATO.
“Following the recent European elections, in which Hungarians voted in large numbers in favor of peace, we reached an important agreement with the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg. We agreed that no Hungarian personnel will take part in NATO activities in Ukraine and that no Hungarian funds will be used to support them“, Orban wrote in a long post on X.
Rutte is by far the favorite candidate of most NATO allies, including large members such as United States And Germany. Earlier this year, the Türkiye had expressed its opposition to Rutte’s bid, but Ankara rescinded its objections in April.
The last thorny knot to be resolved coincides, as mentioned, with the lukewarm competition represented by the candidacy of Iohannis, who is approaching the end of his second mandate
five-year term as head of state. At the moment, however, the former Dutch prime minister remains the hottest name to succeed Stoltenberg. With the support of Hungary and Slovakia the road should be downhill.
