by Oui
Mon Apr 17th, 2023 at 10:56:31 AM EST
Candidates need to be approved by the White House and will not be a U.S. citizen ... no name will officially be put forward as all the discussion, evaluation and lobbying will be behind the curtains of diplomacy until a clear candidate floats on top to be the lead contender.
NATO is well entrenched in hawkish policy, a European land war that will endure, don't do diplomacy or takes initiatives to a ceasefire or peaceful settlement. All eyes are set on deployment towards Indo-Pacific to confront a growing power of China and the need for posturing in defense of China's province Taiwan.
Public opinion is formed by manipulation and war propaganda, si skills need to be broad and a career of experience. So the European foreign ministers or country leaders will be watched as candidates. Easy entry to the White House and Joe Biden will be imperative, as is leadership in partnership on military investment and activity.
I am watching VDL and Mark Rutte for their candidacy ... both have turned quite hawkish pro-NATO where their difference lies in loyalty to the EU. Rutte is more a Atlanticist pro policy as represented by Boris and Donald. This means larger states from the Franco-German-Italian axis will not support Rutte. For New Europe states their preference will be a NATO chief from their group of nations, strong opinion anti-Russia. However, NATO has become more of a global player and not focused on Europe and Russia alone. Chance for Rutte to get support from the Eastern front.
Game is on ...
Well, this was a false start as no one was willing to replace Stoltenberg during a war with Russia. Even today there is an option for another year delay ...
A wartime NATO struggles to replace its chief | Politico |
The job is suddenly politically sensitive and high-profile, driving people to float names like Ursula von der Leyen that are unlikely -- for now.
It's the rumor inflating the Brussels bubble: The EU's top executive, Ursula von der Leyen, could be crossing town to run NATO.
The rationale makes sense. She has a good working relationship with Washington. She is a former defense minister. And as European Commission president, she has experience working with most NATO heads of government. Plus, if chosen, she would become the alliance's first-ever female leader.
The conversation has crested in recent weeks, as people eye current NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's pending exit at the end of September.
Yet according to those inside NATO and at the Commission, the murmurings are more wish-casting than hints of a pending job switch. There is no evidence von der Leyen is interested in the role, and those in Brussels don't expect her to quit before her first presidential term ends in 2024.
The chatter is similar to the rumblings around Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a long-serving leader who checks every box but insists he doesn't want the job. [denial or shrugging shoulders is a requisite for wanting the job]
The (very) short list
From the German government's perspective, keeping von der Leyen at the helm of the Commission might also be a bigger priority than NATO -- even if she comes from the current center-right opposition. The EU executive is arguably more powerful than the NATO chief within Europe, pushing policies that affect nearly every corner of life.
Predictably, the Commission is officially dismissive of any speculation.
The Netherlands is also relatively muscular on defense -- it has been one of Europe's largest donors to Ukraine -- but not quite as hawkish as countries on the eastern flank.
"Rutte's name keeps popping up," said the second senior European diplomat, "but no movement on this beyond gossip."
[Searching for a war hawk fitting new NATO policy?]
Others occasionally mentioned as possible candidates are Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and to a lesser extent British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová.
But despite the gossip, officials acknowledge many of these names are not politically feasible at this stage.
🔻🔻🔻
Most unlikely person for the job may well get the position when strong-armed by the [CIA] White House of course former Polish FM Radek Sikorski. Great positive for Joe he can talk directly to Anne to convey his message. 😂 🇺🇸 🇵🇱 🇬🇧 Sikorski was CIA agent from his time as "reporter" in 1980s and British citizenship. This call will certainly antagonize our enemy Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov. No diplomacy guaranteed.
In the past 18 months, Dutch PM Rutte has been a frontrunner in support of NATO aggressive policy and has been prolific as partner in hybrid warfare against the Russian threat for over a decade. See my writings about Nine Eyes, NSA, GCHQ, AIVD, MIVD, Cozy Bear, Mossad ...
Evidence Rutte can work across party lines [from rightwing to extreme rightwing 😡] with Democrats and Republicans, well established pro-Zionist support for Israeli politics ... ticking all the boxes.
The Dutch already got an incentive bonus from NATO ...
NATO Innovation Fund to Establish its Headquarters in the Netherlands
News item | 20-03-2023 | 19:30
The headquarters of the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) will be located in the Netherlands, the NIF has announced today. The NIF is one of NATO's initiatives to drive innovation within the alliance. The Netherlands had proposed within NATO that the offices for the fund be established in the Netherlands. That was a close collaboration between the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), Techleap.nl and the Ministry of Defence. The NIF will be officially launched during the NATO summit in Vilnius in July this year.
How VDL has positioned her speeches to conform to NATO war representative, not a leader of the economic bloc of nations, the EU-27. Protecting EU economic interests ... NOT ⁉️
VDL Twitter shows a busy schedule ...
EU Commission not speaking with one voice ...
From my recent diary ...
Macron Is Proven Right: NATO Is Brain Dead!!
However Germans's legacy of pacifist policy post WWII will hamper her to get support.
Germany's foreign minister said there are several reasons why isolating Russia might not be a good idea, speaking after meeting with his Polish counterpart. The two discussed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline at length.
For over a century the Netherlands was known for its pacifism, anti-war and human rights stance. Carnegie build and funded the Peace Palace in The Hague, location of the UN International. Court of Justice (ICJ) and the troubled International Criminal Court (ICC) for war criminals by exception for Americans and Israelis.
Miss Jane Addams of Chicago leads party of 39 women to attend peace meeting in The Hague - 1915
In 1883, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that Aletta Jacobs was not permitted to vote because she was a woman.
Translated from German by Google:
Against the War: Courageous pacifists middle of a war frenzy
Amazing and very courageous women, read the article!
How that changed in the 21st century and especially today when everyone is seen coming from Mars, not Venus. Welcome to life after 1984.
🇬🇧 HMS Defender and 🇾🇪 MS Evertsen #WeAreNato sailing for Crimea | Sept. 17, 2021 |
Dutch Strategic power in well known old-colonial seas off Indonesia, Taiwan and Japan.
Related reading ...
International Coalition to Defeat [Progressive Left and Social] Democrats in 2016 | July 8, 2018 |
