Britain’s outgoing prime minister could replace Jens Stoltenberg as secretary-general of the alliance next year, says The Telegraph
Senior members of the Conservative Party are backing the prospect of outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson becoming the next NATO secretary-general, The Telegraph has reported.
The current head of the US-led military bloc, Jens Stoltenberg, is “generally expected to step down in September next year”, leaving the high-profile defense position open, the newspaper said.
This timing would give Johnson “some time to recharge his batteries” after three years as UK prime minister, it pointed out.
The 58-year-old announced his resignation earlier this month after several high-profile scandals and a wave of resignations among his cabinet. He will remain in office until September 6.
NATO’s secretary-general is unanimously elected by all NATO members, and according to The Telegraph, Johnson has a good chance of landing the job because he “won international credit for helping to build the international coalition against Russia’s Vladimir Putin” after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine .
London has been one of Kiev’s strongest backers, supplying the country with weapons, training its troops and advocating a military solution to the crisis, while imposing extensive sanctions on Russia.
The US would also prefer a British candidate for secretary-general because of its “mistrust of any EU person taking the job given repeated suggestions of plans for a new EU army”, the paper claimed.
“Any prominent Briton would be an excellent choice [to lead NATO]. If that’s really what Boris Johnson wants to do, I would of course support it,” said Richard Drax, a senior Conservative member of the defense committee.
Another committee member, Mark Francois, insisted that “people will probably argue about Boris Johnson’s legacy for years – but one thing that is clearly indisputable is his absolutely strong support for Ukraine in the face of Russian barbarism.”
“If he were to apply to be NATO Secretary General, I suspect he could be trusted [Ukrainian] President Zelensky for a reference,” he added.
Former Brexit Secretary David Jones also pointed out that “it was Boris who went to Sweden and Finland and urged the leaders of both countries to apply for NATO membership, which of course they did.”
However, not all Tories support Johnson, with former head of the British Army Lord Dannatt suggesting he is unsuitable for the NATO role because of his “personal stuff, the lack of integrity, the lack of trust.”
“Frankly, we don’t want to expose Boris Johnson on the international stage for more ridicule. He is a national embarrassment,” he said.
A senior Ministry of Defense official, who spoke to The Telegraph on condition of anonymity, also suggested that France was likely to veto any British candidate applying to become NATO secretary-general.
Ukrainian MP Aleksey Goncharenko said Johnson was “the right person” for the role because he “understands the challenges facing NATO and the West.” However, Ukraine will not have a vote because it is not a member of NATO.
Downing Street declined to comment when contacted about the matter by the Telegraph.
If the British politician becomes NATO’s secretary general, it is likely to further deteriorate relations between the alliance and Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier this month that Britain’s “aggressively” anti-Russian policy in recent years could be attributed to Johnson personally. The outgoing British prime minister is someone who always strives to “put on a show” and who “held on to power until the end to advance his own political career in every possible way,” he said.
(RT.com)
Source: sn.dk