Dutch PM to be next NATO head after opposition withdraws

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will be the next head of the western security alliance NATO, after the only remaining opposition candidate bowed of Thursday’s race.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who sought the leadership position alongside Rutte, announced he was no longer interested during a meeting with his security council on Thursday.

Iohannis also asked the council to support Rutte in his candidacy, putting the Dutch leader over the finish line. Romania is the only NATO country among the 32 members that has not yet approved him for the top job.

Hungary was also another major obstacle to Rutte’s candidacy, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced this week he reached an agreement with the Dutch leader that Budapest would not participate in NATO support for Ukraine nor that Hungarian funds would be used to support Kiev.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has had his mandate extended four times, but will end his current term in October.

Several candidates vied for the alliance’s top job, including Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš. Other candidates are said to be interested, including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and former UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

When Rutte takes the top job, he will do so at a more dangerous time, with Europe’s biggest land war since World War II raging in Ukraine and Russia gaining the initiative on the battlefield against Kiev.

NATO is also under internal pressure, as former President Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, threatened not to defend countries that do not pay enough in defense spending.

Although defense spending has been historically low for many European nations, the war in Ukraine has spurred renewed investment. This week, Stoltenberg announced A record 23 allies will spend at least 2% of economic output on defense this year.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story