NOS News•today, 6:37 PM
In the run-up to the celebration of NATO’s 75th anniversary on April 4, it is clear that outgoing Prime Minister Rutte has received support from several more countries to become the new Secretary General of the military alliance.
Today it was confirmed that 28 of the 32 NATO member states support Rutte’s candidacy, sources report to NOS. Three countries have been added in the past ten days. This means that four more have to be won, because an appointment requires the unanimous support of all 32 member states.
The foreign ministers of the NATO countries will be in Brussels in the coming days, where on the sidelines of the summit and the festivities there will be a lot of discussion about the succession of the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who will leave his position at the beginning of October.
Romania has its own candidate. The other countries that do not support Rutte are Hungary and probably also Slovakia and Turkey.
Sources at NATO report to NOS that Rutte is in discussions with these four countries about his role in NATO leadership.
The obstructionists Hungary and Slovakia would more easily cease their opposition to Rutte if Romanian President Iohannis were to withdraw his candidacy, according to NATO circles. Until that is the case, it would be embarrassing for the Hungarians and Slovaks to drop Iohannis, the only official candidate from another Eastern European country.
Impressive leader
American NATO Ambassador Julianne Smith has reiterated that the United States fully supports Rutte. She told the international press that she hopes a decision will be made in the coming weeks, but that it is not clear when exactly that will be. “Better sooner than later,” Smith said. She called both Rutte and Iohannis an impressive leader.
It was previously thought that the decision would be made around this time, to coincide with the anniversary, but that does not seem to have been achieved. It must be clear who will be the new Secretary General no later than the summit in Washington, from 9 to 11 July. The 75th anniversary will also be celebrated in a big way.
