Scholz prevented von der Leyen from NATO’s top job bid – media reports

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz allegedly opposed the idea of incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen running for NATO’s secretary-general post, according to German media.

“Scholz was categorically opposed that von der Leyen would become NATO chief,” the German Welt am Sonntag report stated, referring to sources with knowledge of the discussions.

This was after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken supposedly suggested von der Leyen for the top job, and US President Joe Biden asked Scholz for his opinion on the matter, according to the report.

According to the sources cited in the report, Scholz believed the NATO top job would have been a too powerful position to give to a member of his largest opposition party in Germany, the Christian Democrats (CDU).

In addition, he supposedly feared that von der Leyen’s radical opposition against Russia might be harmful to NATO after a possible end of Moscow’s war on Ukraine, the report stated.

NATO’s current Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, is expected to be replaced by autumn, with discussions of a worthy successor ongoing ahead of the Western military alliance’s anniversary summit in July. Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is currently considered a top contender.

Meanwhile, Von der Leyen has not yet declared her candidacy for a second term at the European Commission, but people close to her have stressed that she would not be available for the NATO job candidacy.

On Saturday, von der Leyen announced at the Munich Security Conference that, if re-elected, she would aim for the next European Commission to include a dedicated defence portfolio.

“If I would be the president of the next European Commission, I would have a commissioner for defence,” she told the Munich audience.

(Kjeld Neubert | Euractiv.de)