According to The Sun, Ursula von der Leyen is in line for NATO’s top job after a number of NATO members proposed her candidacy.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is “in the running” to replace Jens Stoltenberg, whose term as NATO secretary general expires in October, British newspaper The Sun reported on Friday, citing a diplomatic source.
According to the tabloid, “a number of NATO members” proposed von der Leyen’s candidacy for the bloc’s top job. However, the newspaper also cited UK sources as saying that London “would likely veto” the move because of “her poor track record in charge of Germany’s Armed Forces” during her tenure as defense minister.
The newspaper reported British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is backing Ben Wallace, the country’s defense secretary, for NATO’s top post. Wallace said in a radio interview in February that he was happy with his current position, adding that leading NATO would be “a great job as well.”
The report named Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland as other possible candidates. The Sun added that Kallas has reportedly declined to be nominated and that Freeland, whose mother is Ukrainian, was “unlikely” to succeed because Ottawa has so far failed to meet the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defense.
The US Army has established its first permanent garrison on NATO’s eastern flank at Camp Kosciuszko in Poland.
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