4. Eastern flank grievances
Countries bordering Russia are not Rutte’s biggest fans.
They were angry about low Dutch defense spending and are particularly upset that the top role at NATO has always gone to a Western or Northern European, even though eastern flank countries have been in the alliance for a quarter of a century.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas didn’t enter the NATO top job race after being told she wouldn’t get the support of countries such as the U.S., France and Germany (she’s now the frontrunner to be the next EU foreign policy chief). They feared her appointment would be seen by Moscow as an escalation in hostilities. Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis, who did run for the job, got only Hungary — briefly and only for tactical reasons — to support him.
Eastern flank countries will now likely ask for better representation at the secondary level of NATO: the deputy secretary-general (DSG) position, and the various assistant secretary-general (ASG) posts.
Job distribution has been a sore point for eastern countries for some time. While the outgoing DSG is Romanian, all seven ASGs are from the West — two from the U.S., one each from Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, Italy and France. Another ASG job is vacant.
Indeed, one of Rutte’s first tasks as NATO chief would be to name a deputy, and there’ll be pressure for him to appoint somebody from an eastern country.
