Danish Prime Minister next NATO boss???
Before, during and after the weekend I have been occupied with NATO one way or the other because no one is certain if the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen will be the next Secretary-General of NATO.
From left the former Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Uffe Ellemann-Jensen with the Belgian Willy Claes who was forced to leave his post as NATO Secretary-General.
Photo: © Erik Luntang
I remember last time Denmark had a candidate for the post back in 1995 where the then Secretary-General Willy Claes was forced to leave. In his place the Clinton Administration backed the former Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, but France opposed him because of Denmark’s criticism of France’s nuclear testing in the Pacific and because Mr. Elleman-Jensen does not speak acceptable French. The French wanted the Spanish Javier Solana and got him.
On Friday the German newspaper Süddeutschen Zeitung wrote that the Brits, the German and the French back the Danish Prime Minister and therefor is a strong candidate for the post.
I think that if the Danish Prime Minister wants a international post within the EU he may take the NATO post for strategic reasons. His ambitions is more likely to become President of the European Commission or of the European Union Council, but before we know what the Irish say to the Lisbon Treaty many things can change.
Instead Anders Fogh Rasmussen can do like the Spanish Javier Solana, who took the post at NATO i 1995 and then moved on to the become the first European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy in 1999. It seems to make sense for the Danish Prime Minister to do make the same move. When his term is over at NATO it will be time to find new presidents at the EU and if he has done a good job at NATO, he will be a strong candidate for the top positions.
- BRUSSELS – BELGIUM – 11 November 2002–European Council, EU Russia Summit. — Russia President Vladimir PUTIN welcomed to the EU-Russia Summit by the President and Danish Prime Minister Anders-Fogh RASMUSSEN. Watching Javier SOLANA (R) the High Representative for CFSP. Photo: © Erik Luntang/Official EU-Presidency Photographer
- USA Minister of Defence Warren M. Christopher welcomes the NATO Secretary-General to be, the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs Javier Solana at a NATO meeting in Brussels DEC. 5, 1995. Behind Warren M. Christopher the acting Secretary-General Sergio Balanzino. On the same meeting Solana became the 9th. Secretary-General. (NORDFOTO/Erik Luntang)
You got something right here. If Foghs ambition is to become President of the European Commission the NATO boss job could be strategic. And that would be most likely that Fogh would act strategic. He has acted that way for many years as the danish prime minister – but can he also continue doing that as the boss of NATO. If so, he probably will not become the President of the European Commission. He has been going hand in hand with the Bush administration, and now the world and NATO wants a change. So if Fogh wants to do well as NATO boss he needs to be diplomatic instead of thinking strategic. And that would be a real magic change.