Nato’s leadership race is a miserable advert for the alliance

Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, has conceded defeat in his bid to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as secretary-general of Nato. Wallace had been a strong contender for the job, owing to his role in supporting Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. But now it seems the role will go to a character in the mould of the incumbent, a compromise candidate who least offends the countries doing the choosing. The role is simply too big and important to be left to this kind of petty box-ticking and political horse trading.

Wallace appeared to suggest, in an interview with the Economist, that he faced opposition to his candidacy from America and France. The next secretary-general, he said, was ‘going to have to please both Macron and Biden’. 

The Americans — in their public statements — claimed to be keeping an open mimd. President Biden described Wallace as ‘very qualified’ for the job when he met Rishi Sunak in Washington recently, and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on record that they’re not ‘promoting any particular candidate’.