( Image Courtesy : The Guardian )
With General Jens Stoltenberg stepping down as the Secretary General of NATO the discussions on who shall replace him have taken the limelight. A former soldier himself, the secretary of state for Defense of the United Kingdom Mr. Robert Ben Wallace has expressed his interest in contending for the top job.
The secretary told German news agency DPA that he believes it would be a good position.Mr. Wallace has played an important role in supporting the Ukrainian resistance and has been long speculated to be a contender for the position. Despite the position of Secretary General being vested in more senior politicians such as former Prime Ministers Secretary Wallace remains one of the top choices.
The World Response
( Image courtesy : The Times )
The path to Secretary-General will not in any way, be an easy one for Secretary Wallace. With no official word of support behind him , not only from other nations but his own Prime Minister as well, Secretary Wallace is fighting an Uphill battle. The United States has also refrained from declaring support for the candidate hopeful.
With incoming reports of the possibility that French President Emmanuel Macron would veto Secretary Wallace’s candidature the chances are getting grimmer for him and the startling decision has created unprecedented tension between the United Kingdom and the French Republic, two of the most important players in NATO as well as Europe.
President Macron has opined the need for someone from Europe to be heading NATO and that might be one of the probable reasons that have compelled him.
Trouble in Paradise?
( Image Courtesy : The Telegraph )
Contrary to popular belief the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak has not at all been stern on his support for the Secretary and when asked by ITV about his support for Mr. Wallace the Prime Minister did not offer any formal backing but expressed that the secretary was respected among his colleagues and allies and that right now he is focused on supporting Ukraine
Secretary Ben Wallace was thought to be the most popular candidate to replace Boris Johnson after the fallout in the conservative party owning to the Watergate scandal and Liz Truss after the Mini Budget Debacle, but he decided not to run both timesAccording to a recent study conducted by YouGov, Secretary Wallace is the 8th most popular Member of the Tory parliamentary party.
The other contenders.
Other than Ben Wallace, the candidates known to be running for NATO chief is
( Image courtesy : The Brussels Times)
- Mark Ruette: With the incredible achievement of becoming the Netherlands’ longest-serving Prime Minister is the most popular candidate to replace General Stoltenberg. With his recent suggestions on leaving politics altogether and doing something completely different when asked about the NATO leadership, there is a high possibility he might be interested in the job.
With all 13 of the previous Secretary Generals of NATO being male the pressure on the alliance to invest the position in a woman is stronger than ever. Some of the considered contenders are
( Image courtesy : Estonian World )
2. Kaja Kallas: The Prime Minister of Estonia since 2021, and the first woman to hold the pos
(Image courtesy: R7 Esporte)
3.Kolinda Graber-Kitarovic: The former President of Croatia has also been speculated a candidate
Other candidates include President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, a person with experience as Germany’s defense minister formerly, and Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s deputy PM. It has been rumored that Ms. Freeland has the support of the United States
