No successor in sight
Divided NATO begs Stoltenberg to stay
6/30/2023, 4:47 p.m
Jens Stoltenberg has other plans, but it looks like the Norwegian will stay on as NATO Secretary General for at least another year. The alliance states cannot find a suitable successor. The German defense minister says what everyone is thinking.
The search for a successor to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has failed for the time being. In the absence of an acceptable candidate, on which all 31 alliance states could agree, the Norwegian should remain in office for another year, according to information from alliance circles. The formal decision to extend the treaty is expected to be made next Tuesday at a meeting of NATO permanent representatives in Brussels.
Stoltenberg himself had stated several times in the past few months that he was not actually aiming for another term. According to information from those around him, he wants to continue out of “duty”. The USA in particular had recently regularly praised the 64-year-old for his leadership since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Stoltenberg did an “incredible job,” said US President Joe Biden in mid-June.
In recent months, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and British Defense Minister Ben Wallace have been considered possible candidates to succeed Stoltenberg. However, both were not without controversy. The argument against Wallace in EU countries was that he was never head of state or government and that he did not come from an EU country. In the case of Frederiksens, opponents pointed out that the important NATO post should not be filled again with someone from the north. The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who could need a new job after the parliamentary elections next month, was recently mentioned as an alternative.
Pistorius appreciates Stoltenberg
In view of the difficult search for a new NATO Secretary General, more and more politicians had recently shown themselves open to a further extension of the Stoltenberg Treaty. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said recently that if no agreement can be reached on the successor, the Western Defense Alliance cannot exist without its Secretary General. That’s why he would be in favor of an extension, especially since he appreciates working with Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg has been Secretary General of NATO for almost nine years. His term of office was last extended by another year to September 30, 2023 in March 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Actually, the former Norwegian head of government announced his departure last year. The plan was to return home. Stoltenberg could have become head of the Norwegian central bank there.
In the history of the alliance, Stoltenberg is already the second longest-serving Secretary General. The Dutchman Joseph Luns has been the Alliance’s highest international official for the longest time. He served from 1971 to 1984.