Italian paper: Hungary may veto the new NATO leader with a surprising ally

It appears that the Hungarians will veto the next secretary general of NATO. And doing so, they can rely on an old friend from Central Europe. At least, that is what the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera suggests based on unnamed sources.

The Italian news outlet’s information was summed up by index.hu. The victim of the joint veto is expected to be Ursula von der Leyen, the incumbent chairwoman of the European Commission. Based on the Italian paper, Jens Stoltenberg, the acting secretary-general will leave the office this year. His mandate started in 2014, but he would not like to prolong it, so his assignment will end on 30 September. The secretary general of NATO varies between the member states, but the military leader is always American.

There is no official election for the secretary general. The 30 alliance members appoint its next leader unanimously behind closed doors. Americans usually do not have a candidate (since they always chair the military branch and the NATO is a military alliance), but traditionally have a significant influence on the process since it is important for Washington who the next secretary-general will be.

NATO veto from London, too

Based on British sources, the United Kingdom will veto Von der Leyen reasoning with her limited successes as the head of the German armed forces. However, London will not be the only one raising their hand to veto the EC president.

The Italian newspaper wrote that Hungary and Poland would both be quick to oppose her assignment as they could not forgive Von der Leyen for the debates and fights over the different EU allocations. Meanwhile, Frédéric Baldan, a Belgian lobbyist accredited at EU institutions, filed a case against Von der Leyen concerning the Pfizer scandal. As a result, the Belgian-born politician’s immunity might be suspended soon.

Based on the suspicion, Von der Leyen signed a 35 million euros deal with the company for 1.8 billion COVID vaccines. However, it seems the negotiations were not too transparent. The EC head regularly highlights the importance of transparency concerning, for instance, issues regarding Hungary. However, it appears she agreed on the details with Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s CEO, in private text messages.

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