Preferred next NATO General Secretary?

[President Johnson]

Both outgoing Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and term-limited president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, expressed interest in the position to succeed Jens Stoltenberg, who will finally retire as the head of NATO. Rutte is the staunch favorite overall, as the "big four" (Biden, Scholz, Macron and Sunak) already backed his nomination.

Among these, I would favor Mark Rutte. I think he's well suited for the position. My initial favorite was Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas, as she has been a staunch critic of the Kremlin and would also be the first woman leading NATO.

[DavidB.]

The obvious outgoing PM to ask for this job would be Morawiecki — the guy from the country that has been right about Russia for a long time and has massively ramped up investment in his armed forces, setting an example for all of us. Baffling that he isn't even mentioned: he should be the frontrunner. Kallas would also do a good job.

But out of those two? Ideally neither. The Netherlands is in a considerably worse shape now than it was when Mark Rutte became Prime Minister fourteen years ago, in 2010. For that reason alone, he doesn't deserve the job. And Rutte himself was personally responsible for the decision to prioritize extreme budget cuts on Defense. But the other incredibly unpopular, power-hungry guy built himself a €9 million mansion with public money — a type of sin Rutte, with his bicycle and his old Saab, would absolutely never commit. Iohannis is probably no better option. Guess I'll begrudgingly vote Rutte then, because it could be good for the Netherlands, somehow, maybe?

[インターネット掲示板ユーザー Punxsutawney Phil]

Rutte

[Sic Semper Fascistis]

Terrible options, but Rutte I guess.

[Blue3]

I feel like none have been notable since Kofi Annan?

[Kamala-Tim 2024]

I feel like none have been notable since Kofi Annan?

You’re thinking of the UN, not NATO.

[President Johnson]

The obvious outgoing PM to ask for this job would be Morawiecki — the guy from the country that has been right about Russia for a long time and has massively ramped up investment in his armed forces, setting an example for all of us. Baffling that he isn't even mentioned: he should be the frontrunner. Kallas would also do a good job.

Morawiecki was a destructor of the rule of law in his country. He shouldn't be rewarded by leading NATO. He doesn't stand for the values the alliance is supposed to represent. We have quite enough with Erdogan, Orban and Fico.

[DavidB.]

Morawiecki was a destructor of the rule of law in his country. He shouldn't be rewarded by leading NATO. He doesn't stand for the values the alliance is supposed to represent. We have quite enough with Erdogan, Orban and Fico.

He wasn't. He just wasn't a liberal. Poland was a flourishing democracy — until Donald Tusk was elected and decided to fire conservative judges and send his police offers to shut down media outlets, with all the Western liberal media cheerleading. On that day, even the last shred of credibility of this 'rule of law' argument vanished; it proved once and for all that the 'rule of law', for the liberal establishment, was always a one-way street, a stick to beat conservatives with, and not something real. One of the many facades liberals have erected to convince themselves (and others, but increasingly few) of their right to rule for all eternity.

[mileslunn]

Not listed but mine is Chrystia Freeland.  Putin absolutely hates her and she knows a lot about the history of Russia and Ukraine so well suited for time.  Also gets rid of her as current finance minister in Canada where I am not a fan of her. 

[Pericles]

I take it as a sign of his suitability for the role that the Hungarian government has vowed to veto Rutte's nomination. Recent events show they do not have the practical power to veto the consensus choice-even if they have the legal power.

[Flyersfan232]

Sauli Niinistö