British secretary of defense withdraws from bid for NATO chief

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Jun 2023 12:51

UK Secretary of Defense says the next NATO chief would have to please both Macron and Biden who have competing visions on the future of the alliance.

Ben Wallace is given a demonstration of an Ajax Ares Armoured Fighting Vehicle, by the crew on the training range at Bovington Camp, in England, on February 22 (AFP)

Ben Wallace, British Secretary of Defense, announced he was opting out of running for the next NATO chief because of divisiveness among allies.

"It's not going to happen," The Economist quoted Wallace as saying.

After playing a primary role in providing weapons for Ukraine during the war with Russia, the UK has been aspiring for NATO leadership by getting their secretary of defense to be elected as the alliance's chief.

The US, however, wants Jens Stoltenberg to remain as Secretary-General. Stoltenberg has been Secretary General of NATO since 2014, knowing that his term was extended in 2022 after the break out of the war in Ukraine.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is also another front-running candidate, however, there is still no clear consensus among all 31 NATO member states especially in light of competing visions for the alliance between the US and France. The US is trying to comport the alliance to toughen up on China. France, in contrast, is pushing the alliance to serve European self-reliance.

The next NATO chief would have to please both Macron and Biden, Wallace said.

Earlier last week, The Telegraph reported that Emmanuel Macron is trying to block Ben Wallace from becoming the next NATO secretary-general due to Brexit.

The Telegraph reported that French officials have informed NATO counterparts that they want an EU frontman. The decision is part of France's ambition to make the bloc more militarily autonomous and less reliant on Washington for security.

Sources told The Telegraph that many countries, mostly France, are insisting the next secretary-general must be from an EU nation.

Macron has the backing of Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland.

French authorities are said to be concerned about the status of the British Armed Forces due to budget cuts, despite Macron's prior announcement that France will increase military expenditure by more than a third by 2030.

Later, The Guardian reported that the United States is skeptical of Ben Wallace's candidacy for the post of NATO secretary-general because a number of US military officials are dissatisfied with him over his measures on Ukraine.

The US has reservations about Wallace, with some in the military unhappy with the way he has set the pace on the Ukraine issue, the newspaper revealed.