Germany and US back Rutte as NATO chief, Romania puts forward opposite candidate

Germany and the US are backing outgoing Prime Minister Rutte's candidacy as NATO's new secretary-general. This increases the chances of the Dutch leading the coalition. But the competition is far from over: Romania presents a competing candidate and several member states have yet to express their interest.

Support for Root is growing from Western countries. German Chancellor Scholz expressed his support for him later in the afternoon. Earlier in the day it became clear that the outgoing Prime Minister of the Netherlands could also count on the support of US President Biden.

Rutte, the Netherlands' longest-serving prime minister, has been praised by Biden for his leadership qualities. “We have made it clear to our allies that we believe Rutte is the best candidate for NATO,” a White House spokesman said.

Today, support from France came as much as support from the British. Yesterday The political establishment has already reported According to sources in various governments, Rutte has the support of at least twenty countries, two-thirds of NATO member states.

Although Rutte's chances are steadily increasing, it is still far from certain that he will lead NATO. Romania announced today that it is proposing President Iohannis as its opponent.

This month, President Iohannis openly called for greater geographical diversity for top European posts. He said it was a mistake that few or no appointments were made to officials from Eastern and Central Europe after the European Parliament elections in 2019.

“I think this is one of the reasons why many Eastern Europeans feel left behind. This is a mistake we must not repeat this time. Regional criteria are important and cannot be ignored. If this happens again, it is unacceptable.”

There is no official process for choosing a new NATO leader: the process takes place behind closed doors. Ultimately, all member states must agree on a candidate. No appointment is possible without consensus. Twenty of NATO's 31 members will now back Rutte, it emerged yesterday.

Rutte is seen as a standard option by the British, Americans, French and Germans. He is one of the longest-serving leaders of the European Union. He also had a good working relationship with Donald Trump when he was the US President. Given the US presidential election, the Dutch are considered a safe choice.

The military coalition is currently headed by Jens Stoltenberg. Norway assumed the NATO presidency in 2014. He will retire in October, when his successor will take over.

Rudd's name has been tossed around for months as a leading contender for the coalition leadership. “I think there is a good chance that Mark Rutte will be appointed,” Job de Hoop told Schaefer yesterday. news hour.

April 4 has been mentioned as a possible meeting date. That's the day NATO has been in existence for 75 years. Then the foreign ministers of the member states meet.

De Hoop Scheffer was the last Dutch Secretary General of NATO from 2004 to 2009. “There is a large, important group of countries that support Rudd's candidacy, and I think we can expect a decision very soon.”