Exposed internal differences, difficult selection of NATO Secretary General NATO member states Secretary General
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization had originally planned to announce the new Secretary General at the member state summit to be held in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania next month, but has been unable to reach an agreement on the candidate. Media analysis suggests that NATO member states are concerned that internal differences may be exposed, which is not conducive to military support for Ukraine. The current Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, may have to work for another year.
Each candidate has resistance
Sources say that European countries such as France hope that the new Secretary General will come from the European Union, preferably a woman. According to The Guardian on the 18th, leaders of EU member states such as French President Emmanuel Macron are unwilling to accept a candidate from a non EU country as NATO Secretary General again. Due to the UK's departure from the EU, this position actually does not accept the UK Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace as a candidate. If Wallace wants to become NATO Secretary General, he needs strong support from US President Joseph Biden.
△ Ben Wallace
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Wallace previously publicly expressed his intention to compete for the position of NATO Secretary General and received support from British Prime Minister Richie Sunak. When Sunak visited the United States earlier this month, he attempted to persuade Biden to support the nomination. However, the United States still has doubts about Wallace, and military personnel are dissatisfied with his attempt to manipulate the "rhythm" of Ukraine's actions.
According to The Guardian, the relationship between the UK Ministry of Defense and the Ukrainian military in areas such as intelligence cooperation is likely to be closer than other European countries.
△ Met Fraser Rickson
Danish Prime Minister Met Fraser Riksen is seen as another potential hot candidate, as EU countries prefer NATO Secretary General to be appointed by a woman for the first time. According to a US official, Biden also highly praised her.
![Exposed internal differences, difficult selection of NATO Secretary General NATO member states Secretary General](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/99734a705a16a99aadbd57c95fca1bd0.jpg)
According to The Guardian, Fraser Rickson met with Biden earlier this month for nearly two hours and also had a separate meeting with CIA Director William Burns. The Danish government recently plans to increase defense spending in order to meet the US target of 2% of GDP. However, Fraser Rickson had previously insisted that he had no intention of serving as NATO Secretary General.
△ Kaya Karas
Candidates from NATO's "eastward expansion" region have also received a lot of support, especially Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Karas. She advocates that EU countries should not only freeze Russia's assets in Europe, but also confiscate them, while supporting EU countries in expanding their arms production. In the Guardian's view, the NATO Secretary General needs to attach great importance to maintaining unity within the alliance, resolving differences, and publicly denying any differences. Karas, as a pioneer in anti Russia and military expansion, may not be the ideal candidate for this position.
Can you work for another year now?
![Exposed internal differences, difficult selection of NATO Secretary General NATO member states Secretary General](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/86534ed901ea0e599dbb7297e7235679.jpg)
The selection of NATO Secretary General requires unanimous agreement from 31 member countries. The current Secretary General Stoltenberg is the former Prime Minister of Norway, who took office in October 2014 and is the second longest serving Secretary General in NATO history. He was supposed to step down in October last year, but NATO decided in March to keep him in office until the end of September this year.
△ Stoltenberg
A US official who declined to be named revealed to the media on the 16th that due to NATO member states currently unable to reach a consensus on the Secretary General's candidate before the Vilnius summit, the Biden administration is considering persuading Stoltenberg to work for another year. Norwegian media reported that Biden was encouraged to extend his term during his meeting with Stoltenberg on the 13th.
A senior Western diplomat told the Financial Times that although Stoltenberg himself has repeatedly stated that he has no intention of seeking an extension, he may agree to stay in order to maintain continuity.
![Exposed internal differences, difficult selection of NATO Secretary General NATO member states Secretary General](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/29e2a5aca67346b9e96d93da0b352cdb.jpg)
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius expressed clear support for this. Danish Prime Minister Fraser Riksen said on the 15th that if Stoltenberg can be convinced, extending his term is a "very good solution".
Stoltenberg's term has been extended several times. He postponed for the first time in 2019 to avoid increasing uncertainty after Brexit in the UK. The second extension is in 2020 to ensure that NATO remains stable during the COVID-19 epidemic. After the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis in February last year, Stoltenberg's term was extended for the third time.
According to Reuters analysis, NATO member states are concerned that exposing internal disunity will hinder military support for Ukraine, and the possibility of Stoltenberg's fourth extension of his term is becoming increasingly high. Whoever takes on this position will face a dual challenge of uniting NATO to support Ukraine while avoiding NATO's involvement in direct war with Russia.