Dutch prime minister set to be next NATO chief after opposition bows out

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is set to be the next head of the Western security alliance NATO after the only remaining opposition candidate bowed out of the race Thursday.

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

Iohannis also asked the council to support Rutte for his bid, putting the Dutch leader at the finish line. Romania is the only remaining NATO country of the 32 members yet to have approved him for the top job.

Hungary was also another major holdout on Rutte’s candidacy, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced this week he reached a deal with the Dutch leader that Budapest would not take part in NATO’s support for Ukraine nor would Hungarian funds be used to support Kyiv.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has had his term extended four times, but he will finish his current term in October.

Several candidates had vied for the alliance’s top job, including Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš. Other candidates were reportedly interested, including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and former U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.

When Rutte assumes the top job, he will do so at a more perilous time, with the largest land war in Europe since World War II raging in Ukraine and Russia gaining the initiative on the battlefield against Kyiv.

NATO is also under strain from within, as former President Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has threatened not to defend countries that do not pay enough in defense spending.

While defense spending has historically been 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 percent of economic output on defense this year.

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