The term of office of the Secretary General of NATO will be extended again. Every time he takes over, he will have something to do with COVID-19 | Stoltenberg | Secretary General

Whenever the term is approaching its end and there is a handover,

Something big will always happen in Europe,

For example, Britain's "Brexit", the COVID-19, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Therefore, his term has been extended three times before.

Author: Mao Yufei

Stoltenberg, who has been serving as NATO Secretary General for 9 years, will eventually continue to be re elected.

On July 4th, NATO issued a statement stating that member states agreed to extend Stoltenberg's term for another year, until October 2024.

Currently, NATO leaders hope to reach an agreement on a successor at the annual summit to be held in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius next week. Stoltenberg posted on social media stating that he is "honored" by the decision of NATO member states. US President Biden welcomed this and said in a statement, "Stoltenberg has enabled Europe to overcome the most significant security challenge since World War II."

There must be something to do every shift handover

Stoltenberg has repeatedly expressed his desire to step down and is said to have packed his luggage. He first served as Secretary General of NATO in 2014. Some analysts believe that Stoltenberg has "made no achievements during his tenure", but whenever his tenure ends and he is facing handover, there will always be a major event in Europe, such as Britain's "Brexit", the COVID-19 epidemic, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Therefore, his term has been extended three times before.

In February of this year, a spokesperson for the NATO Secretary General stated that Stoltenberg's term is expected to end in October and he himself has no intention of seeking to continue in this position. During this period, there has been an undercurrent of competition for the new NATO Secretary General.

In early June, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace expressed interest in the position. Wallace, born in 1970, is a member of the Conservative Party in the UK. He said in a media interview, "I've always said this would be a good job, that's the job I want." On June 7th, during British Prime Minister Sunak's visit to the United States, he recommended to US President Biden that Wallace take over as the next Secretary General of NATO. Biden replied, "We still need to observe. We must reach a consensus within NATO."

But France and Germany are opposed to Wallace taking over NATO because "the NATO Secretary General must come from EU countries.". On June 18th, the Daily Telegraph reported that French President Macron was attempting to prevent Wallace from taking office, accusing Macron of "having no authority to serve as a decision-maker for NATO.".

In addition to Wallace, Danish Prime Minister Met Fraser Riksen was also a popular candidate because "EU countries prefer NATO Secretary General to be appointed by a woman for the first time.". But she, born in 1977, is considered "too inexperienced".

Biden strongly recommended European Commission President von der Leyen to become the next NATO Secretary General. A senior official of the US government, who did not want to be named, said: "This is not a random name, it is a strategic choice." The official said that the Biden government was very satisfied with von der Leyen's performance in the EU, and believed that she was a very important member of the US European Union. But because the term of office of the President of the European Commission of von der Leyen will end next year, he cannot leave.

"It's too difficult to find a successor for Stoltenberg," said the German newspaper, the South German newspaper. Countries are unable to reach an agreement, and Stoltenberg has once again extended his term.

British media reported that there was no consensus within NATO on a successor, and the differences were becoming increasingly severe. Another analysis suggests that the extension is to avoid the escalation of internal disagreements within NATO regarding the selection of the next Secretary General into a public dispute. This also shows that NATO countries are "quite satisfied" with Stoltenberg, and the United States seems to feel that "it is OK not to change people".

"Not a NATO decision-maker,",

But it's the spokesperson for the United States

Stoltenberg has been in charge of NATO for 9 years. Flipping through NATO's old history, it is not difficult to find that he constantly changes his face when it comes to issues related to China.

When he first took office, he claimed not to regard China as an enemy, but to cooperate with China.

In 2019, there was a trade friction between China and the United States, posing challenges to their relationship. Before the "NATO 70th Anniversary Summit" at the end of the year, the United States fanned the flames and constantly hyped up the so-called "China threat theory". Stoltenberg understood. At the summit, he took the initiative to bring the topic to China and initiated discussions on "responding to China's rise".

The United States was very satisfied with his performance, but other NATO member countries did not think so at the time. The economic and trade relations between China and Europe are close, and most European countries in NATO do not want to see China as a rival. The opinions of all parties were divided, and they argued into a ball. Watching the summit come to an unhappy end, Stoltenberg did not want to offend other member countries, and his attitude underwent a 180 degree turn, emphasizing that NATO does not see China as a "new opponent".

He has had similar "left and right swings" many times. In 2019, while declaring "cooperation with China," he invited 10 experts from around the world to write the NATO 2030 Development Report, which focuses on how to "deal with China's rise.".

After the Ukrainian crisis, China, which was not the party involved, has been urging peace talks, but Stoltenberg has pointed the finger at China. On April 5, 2022, at a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, he claimed that NATO's new strategy would "consider China's influence for the first time" and accused China of "unwilling to condemn Russia's aggressive behavior" in his speech. Faced with provocative remarks, a Chinese journalist angrily retorted on Twitter, "There are 150 countries that have not sanctioned Russia along with the United States and the European Union. Does Stoltenberg also want to condemn them? At the same time, let NATO invade these countries, just like what was done to Libya in 2011?"

Stoltenberg's previous "neutral attitude" was largely influenced by internal divisions within NATO. The German newspaper Le Monde stated that the United States sees China as an enemy, but Germany and France do not see it that way. Amidst the conflicting interests of both parties, Stoltenberg had to be a "double faced person".

"The United States needs to create a common goal to unite NATO, which is experiencing 'brain death', so that NATO can continue to serve as a 'tool' for the United States to control Europe," Ding Yifan, former deputy director of the World Development Research Institute at the Development Research Center of the State Council, told Global Times reporters. Americans know in their hearts that the only way to help NATO survive is to sell anxiety through the "China threat theory".

"In the distorted propaganda of the 'China threat', Stoltenberg is not a NATO decision-maker, but a spokesperson for the United States," Ding Yifan said.

Stoltenberg was born in Oslo, Norway. His father had previously served as the Norwegian Foreign Minister, and his mother had served as a deputy minister. In 1993, Stoltenberg was first elected as a member of parliament, first serving as Minister of Economy and Energy, and later as Minister of Finance. In 2000, due to dissatisfaction within the Norwegian Labour Party with the style of leader Jagland, 41 year old Stoltenberg took over and became the youngest Prime Minister of Norway. Although he stepped down seven months later due to election defeat, he regained his position in 2005 and was re elected in 2009.

In terms of diplomacy, Stoltenberg strives to create the image of Norway as a "neutral small country". At that time, Norway had good relations with several major countries, and Russia was one of them. Norway borders Russia on land and is also a coastal country in the Barents Sea of the Arctic Ocean. Due to the issue of demarcation, the two countries had a heated argument and had been arguing for nearly half a century. After Stoltenberg's multiple visits to Russia, the two countries finally reached an agreement on this matter.

In a round trip, Stoltenberg became friends with Russian President Putin. At an international summit, the two were caught chatting happily, with a hint of joy in their eyes as if they were meeting old friends. Putin once proactively mentioned Stoltenberg to the media: "We have a very close relationship, including personal relationships."

On personal social media, Stoltenberg and then Russian Prime Minister Medvedev have also had frequent interactions. In front of a meeting, Stoltenberg posted a landscape photo of Hilkones, Norway, with the accompanying text: "Welcome to Medvedev's arrival.". Medvedev immediately replied with a scenic photo of the Murmansk region in Russia, "Thank you very much for your warm hospitality.".

It goes without saying that Stoltenberg is an old friend of the President of the United States. He supported the "war on terror" launched by then US President George W. Bush after 9/11 and also dispatched Norwegian troops to participate in NATO's air raid on Libya. Norway is one of the founding countries of NATO. The 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit was attended by Stoltenberg. After the meeting, the White House deliberately released a photo: Bush standing on one side, hands resting on leather chairs, and Stoltenberg on the other side, looking at Bush.

A veteran of "harmony and mud"

Stoltenberg's friendship with the United States and Russia laid the groundwork for his repeated extension as NATO Secretary General.

Ding Yifan believes that NATO chose Stoltenberg as its Secretary General for three reasons. One reason is that he has a "gentle image" and a deep understanding of the art of compromise, which is conducive to initiating dialogue. The second is his identity as a "know Russia faction". In Western politics, Stoltenberg seems to be one of the few national leaders who has had some kind of personal relationship with Putin. The third reason is due to Stoltenberg's "neutral" background. Although Norway has joined NATO, it has always been a relatively neutral small country.

However, it was unexpected that Stoltenberg did not help open the door to dialogue, but instead pushed the relationship between NATO and Russia to a new historical low. On the surface, he actively seeks dialogue, but in reality, while making peace, he helps the United States disrupt Europe. After the Ukrainian crisis, Stoltenberg initially claimed that he hoped to find a peaceful way to end the conflict as soon as possible. Later in an interview with American media, he also stated that NATO had already trained thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and made it clear that transporting heavy weapons to Ukraine would be on the agenda.

"Looking back now, as early as Stoltenberg took office as NATO Secretary General, the United States had already made plans - to use his' moderate 'image to numb the Russian side, in fact, behind the scenes actions were non-stop," Ding Yifan said.

Stoltenberg used this move to earn himself an extension. This also confirms that NATO is ultimately the execution machine of the United States.

NATO was established to deal with the Soviet Union. More than 30 years have passed since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and this military alliance still exists. Since 1999, with five rounds of eastward expansion, NATO has become a tool for individual countries to seek hegemony. Next week, NATO will hold a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania to discuss "increasing defense spending and supporting Ukraine.". At the time of the summit, Lithuania relied on someone to support it and learned from the United States to announce its so-called "Indo Pacific strategy", continuing to shamelessly provoke China.

Is there a scene of NATO's "arch fire" to Asia? The aggressive counterattack by the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the best response: NATO should immediately stop spreading false and provocative remarks against China. NATO has already messed up Europe, don't try to mess up Asia again, mess up the whole world.