Radojkovic: Sekerinska is an ideal candidate for NATO Deputy Secretary General; geopolitical assessments will decide

Radmila Sekerinska, the former Minister of Defense of North Macedonia, is an ideal candidate for the position of NATO Deputy Secretary General, however, whether she will be chosen depends on internal decisions by the Alliance’s leaders, particularly those in Washington, and their current assessment of the global situation. Her election would also send a strong message to the Western Balkans that NATO seriously values the support of this part of Europe, historian Stefan Radojkovic told Kosovo Online.

“If we look at her biography, we can see that, like Mark Rutte, the new Secretary General, she is actually an ideal candidate or one of the possible ideal candidates for this position. She is clearly pro-Western, pro-EU, and, more importantly, pro-US. She was in the government of (Zoran) Zaev when the Prespa Agreement was signed under the US umbrella. She has proven to be a very cooperative operative, ideologically and practically politically aligned with the West, but primarily with the US,” Radojkovic said.

Her election, he emphasizes, will largely depend on the geopolitical assessment of NATO leaders, but the Alliance will also be sending a message by either choosing or not choosing her.

“Whether she will be selected depends on the internal decisions of NATO leadership, primarily Washington, and their current assessment of the world situation. Whether they prefer someone from Poland, Romania, or Bulgaria, or if they want to focus on the Western Balkans, which would send a message to those regions that NATO is seriously counting on their role in the Alliance,” Radojkovic explained.

He notes that NATO, by choosing her, would send a clear message that it is paying attention to its allies and the developments in the Western Balkans.

“If the former Minister of Defense from Macedonia is elected, it will mean that NATO is seriously considering its allies and events in the Western Balkans, in line with current geopolitical circumstances,” the analyst emphasized.

He reminds that NATO is trying to establish a new institutional practice in selecting the Alliance’s leaders to demonstrate that both new and old members are equally important.

“If the Secretary General is selected from Western European states and older members, then deputy secretaries or assistant secretaries are chosen from countries that joined after the end of the Cold War, that is, the new NATO members. Therefore, North Macedonia and Montenegro are also in the running,” Radojkovic stated.

This new practice was established in 2019 with the selection of a representative from NATO’s “Eastern bloc,” the Romanian candidate Mircea Geoana, as Deputy Secretary General.

“In this way, NATO, led primarily by the US, is trying to show that it cares about both new and old Alliance members and that they also have a role in the work and functioning of the Alliance,” Radojkovic emphasized.

He also explains that NATO’s strategy is to support politicians who are aligned with them, even if they are not in the mainstream in their home countries, as is the case with Radmila Sekerinska but also with the new Secretary General, Mark Rutte.

“He lost, his party performed relatively poorly in the last elections in the Netherlands, and his political career in his country is over, but that doesn’t mean his political career is over on the international level. The same was true for Jens Stoltenberg, who was Prime Minister of Norway before becoming Secretary General. So, they like to extend the political careers of those individuals who are aligned with them,” Radojkovic observed.

When asked how the election of a candidate from the region would affect the Western Balkan countries that are not part of the Alliance, this expert stated that nothing “spectacularly new” should be expected.

“It is actually quite a one-way street. It won’t mean anything spectacularly new for Belgrade and Sarajevo, but it is important to note that if someone from North Macedonia is chosen, it will mean that NATO is paying increased attention to this region. That is the only thing we need to watch for. If not, if someone from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, or wherever is chosen, it means that the focus will actually be on Eastern Europe and that they are primarily focusing on relations with Russia. This would then mean that they consider this region relatively stable and peaceful, where there is no need for increased activity,” Radojkovic concluded.