The Hungarian government vowed on Tuesday not to support outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in his candidacy for NATO secretary general. At stake, Hungary explains, are criticisms of the country's policies.
“We cannot support the election as NATO Secretary General of a person who wanted to bring Hungary to its knees,” criticized Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijardo.
The official pointed out that it was “very strange” that Viktor Orbán's government, which has criticized Hungary for its 2021 law on the protection of minors, which links pedophilia to homosexuality, prompted the commission to open a case against the country.
At the time, the Dutch prime minister went further and said Hungary should be kicked out of the European Union (EU) and forced to “kneel” in the face of what he considers “violations of the rule of law”.
It should be remembered that NATO's Secretary General is elected by consensus of all member states of the Atlantic alliance, so Rudd's ambitions are at stake.
The United States and other key allies support Rutte, but others such as Poland or Turkey have not made the Dutchman's candidacy clear and transparent.
After three term extensions, fueled by a lack of candidates and pressure from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the incumbent is Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg. His final months in office are ahead of him, with his term ending in July.
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