Von der Leyen in line for NATO’s top job (to replace Jen Stoltenberg) – The Sun
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.