Rutte's NATO honeymoon looks set to be sweet but short

Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is expected to replace Jens Stoltenberg as secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in October. Last November, after Rutte announced his intention to run in the NATO chief election, he quickly received the support of the United States.

The appointment of the NATO secretary-general must be unanimously agreed by all 32 member states. Some Eastern and Central European countries, which are dissatisfied with the long-term monopoly of Western Europeans in the post, were interested in Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas being appointed. But as Kallas seems more interested in competing to be the next European Union foreign policy chief, these countries are now supporting Rutte.

Most observers believe that the US has cleared the way for Rutte to be successfully elected in advance. It was the pressure from Washington that caused the Central and Eastern European and Baltic countries to change their positions. It is precisely because Washington recently expressed its hope to reach an agreement on the new NATO chief before the Washington Summit in July that prompted all parties to speed up their bargaining on the issue.