An expert from Oxford analyzed Iohannis’s chances at NATO: ‘He would be a win / In fact, the stake is different’ – Source news

#expert #Oxford #analyzed #Iohanniss #chances #NATO #win #fact #stake #Source #news

Corneliu Bjola, political scientist and professor of diplomacy at University of Oxfordalong with his team at the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group, discussed in an interview for “The Truth” about his chances Klaus Iohannis to become a boss at NATO, as well as about who would be most suitable to lead the alliance from Romania’s perspective.

Klaus Iohannis, the President of Romania, announced his candidacy for the position of Secretary General of NATO. Currently, he has only one opponent – Mark Rutte, the former prime minister of the Netherlands. The most influential NATO states, such as the US, France and Britain, have already announced their support for Rutte, which seems to reduce the chances of Klaus Iohannis.

However, Romania is not alone in supporting Iohannis. There are signals that Poland and Hungary would be on his side, although the discrepancy is obvious. Even the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, has announced that he will not run for the position that Klaus Iohannis wants, having already declared his support for Rutte.

Corneliu Bjola, political scientist and diplomacy expert at Oxford University, analyzed the Romanian president’s chances and explained who would be best suited to lead NATO from his perspective.

“Many say that, indeed, a position for Romania would be important and we will see if this candidacy for NATO will be feasible. I noticed that President Iohannis made several trips, including to Washington, Berlin, but apparently not necessarily with many results. Iohannis is quite non-transparent, he usually works, as you saw in the case of Ukraine, he works more quietly. This does not mean that he does not have results, but it is difficult to see what exactly he is doing at the moment and what real chances he has to obtain this position”, declared the expert.

Iohannis and Rutte, face to face with NATO

There are signs that Poland and Hungary are on Iohannis’ side, but the disproportion compared to Rutte’s support is obvious. Even the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, declared his support for Rutte.

Bjola believes that, despite the importance of a NATO leadership position for Romania, Iohannis’ chances are rather theoretical. He notes that Iohannis is quite non-transparent and works more discreetly, which can affect the results obtained. In his opinion, Iohannis is not the right person to lead NATO at such a complicated time.

“Klaus Iohannis is quite challenged both domestically, internally and to a certain extent for the way he starts projects and it is not very clear how he hires them. He has a certain non-transparency which from the point of view of communication does not help, does not advantage him at all. From my point of view he would be a gain, as a person, but still I don’t think he is exactly the person who should lead an organization like NATO, especially at such a complicated time“, says the Oxford professor.

Third NATO option?

As for the ideal candidate, Bjola believes that Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas would be a more suitable option. She is appreciated in Washington, Paris and London, having a more visible and credible profile.

Of course, even if Iohannis were elected, this would not necessarily bring advantages to Romania. The alliance needs a strong leader capable of commanding respect even in the Kremlin and deterring Russia’s ambitions.

“The fact that Iohannis would become the Secretary General of NATO… In fact, the stakes are different. This is a position that must harmonize the positions of those in the organization. This does not mean that NATO will move and completely change its strategy towards Romania. It is a position that presupposes a certain harmonization of interests. And the crucial thing for us is to what extent we will have a secretary general who will succeed in deterring Russia. In fact, this is the biggest stake”, said Corneliu Bojla.