Political analyst Olenchenko said that Johnson has a high chance of becoming NATO Secretary General
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson can be called a “heavyweight” among other candidates to replace the current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS. In an interview with Lenta.ru, the specialist said that at this stage, due to the necessary political experience, Johnson’s candidacy for the post of head of the North Atlantic Alliance is the most promising.
“The current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has already expired, but due to a number of circumstances they were extended for a year: now the term expires in September of this year. In the information space, many candidates were named to replace Stoltenberg: the former President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, the former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, the former President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite – but these are figures of a distracting nature. Boris Johnson can be treated differently. but he is definitely a heavyweight. The listed figures, without detracting from their dignity, are still more of a regional, national scale, ”the expert said.
Commenting on Johnson’s statement about his intention to claim leadership of the defense bloc, Olenchenko noted that these words can be regarded as an invitation to other candidates to speak out.
“Johnson does have an intention to take this position, and he is militarily active by nature. Even after he left the post of British prime minister, he nevertheless regularly visited Kiev, not so much to find options for resolving the conflict, but to support the aggressiveness of the Kiev leadership. The purpose of this statement is to see how other countries will react to this statement: it is unlikely that such a statement will be left without attention, ”the political scientist added.
In any case, Johnson’s candidacy would be preferable, he has everything: political, international experience, and authority. It will be supported by the countries of Eastern Europe, the Baltic countries. If by this time Sweden and Finland become members of NATO, and they support it
Earlier, Johnson said that he was applying for the post of NATO Secretary General, calling this post important and very good.
“Good idea. I must announce that there is such an idea. (…) I consider myself as a candidate,” said the ex-prime minister of Great Britain.
On February 12, the DPA agency, citing NATO spokesman Oan Lungescu, reported that Jens Stoltenberg, the current Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, does not plan to extend his term of office. It is known that it expires in September of this year.
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