Estonia: PM, ex-President pan Dutch PM’s nomination as NATO chief

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the likely nomination of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO’s new secretary general raised the question of whether the alliance has first-rank and second-rank members, Politico reported. She pointed out that Rutte would be the fourth NATO chief from the Netherlands. “Are we equals or are we not equals,” Kallas asked. Meanwhile, Estonia’s former president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, questioned Rutte’s “moral credibility” for the top post, referring to the fact that the Netherlands have failed to meet NATO’s guideline on spending 2% of GDP on defence during Rutte’s 13-year tenure as prime minister. NATO’s largest members, the US, the UK, France, and Germany, support Rutte’s candidacy.