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The appointment of Mark Rutte as the new Secretary General of NATO appears to be as good as it gets. Slovakia also expressed its support for Rutte. Slovak President Pellegrini said today after a European Council meeting that he supports Rutte’s candidacy, Slovak news agency TASR reported.
Yesterday, it became clear that Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán no longer opposes Rutte’s nomination as head of the military coalition, as Romania only has to give the green light to Rutte’s appointment.
Romania nominated its President Klaus Iohannis as its new Secretary-General. He is Rottie’s only opponent.
“Good conversation” with Orbán
In advance, Hungary’s resistance appeared to be Rutte’s biggest obstacle to the top job in NATO, partly due to resentment between Rutte and Orban in the past. But according to Orban’s official spokesman, the two had a “good and open conversation” in Brussels yesterday, and that conversation now appears to have dismissed Orban’s biggest objections.
Slovakia has also long expressed reservations about Rutte’s nomination. President Pellegrini said yesterday that he was still “discussing” the appointment of the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister. For Pellegrini, it was important that Eastern and Central European countries were well represented within the defense alliance.
Pellegrini expresses his support “after consultation with the Slovak government”:
The President of Slovakia confirms his support for Rutte
In return for his support for Rutte, Pellegrini also wants a guarantee that Rutte, as NATO head, is committed to strengthening Slovak air defence, TASR news agency reported. The country now has no air defense system at all.
Earlier this month, Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán received a guarantee from the current NATO Secretary General, Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, that Hungary did not have to actively contribute to military support for Ukraine. This has already removed an important hurdle.
Orbán also called on Rutte to accept the criticism he made of Hungary in 2021. Rutte then said in response to Hungary’s new anti-gay law that there would be no place in the European Union for Hungarians if they introduced such a law. Rutte then said that in a conversation last night, Orban no longer asked for an apology for the statement. It is still unclear what was said.