Mark Rutte in pole position to be next NATO boss

BRUSSELS — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has secured the support of two-thirds of NATO countries to lead the military alliance later this year, two senior officials told POLITICO Wednesday.

"After very intense rounds of discussions among the allies we are now at the point where over 20 NATO allies are prepared to support Prime Minister Rutte as the next secretary-general," said a NATO official, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.

Rutte, who has been campaigning for the job since November, is the only name put forward by the alliance's 31 member governments, the officials said.

Under NATO rules, the secretary-general has to be decided "by consensus," meaning that Rutte still has to garner the backing of all the remaining countries.

The official said that the discussions "are not final" but added: "There is increasing momentum behind his candidacy."

Pressure is growing on NATO members to approve Rutte before the leaders' summit in Washington in July. He would replace Jens Stoltenberg, who has helmed NATO since 2014.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said last week that allies should aim at "completing the selection process probably in the first quarter of this calendar year."

Another senior NATO official confirmed the number of countries that still need to support Rutte, saying that around 10 were still holding back from a yes vote.

"We will continue to hear their questions and concerns," the first official said. "And we encourage ... the Dutch mission at NATO to answer those questions."

Countries are holding back their support for various reasons.

Turkey has been demanding that Rutte not favor EU countries in the alliance, according to Bloomberg. Hungary, meanwhile, has had longstanding disagreements with Rutte over his harsh criticism of the country's democratic backsliding.

It remains unclear if the Baltic countries are backing Rutte, given their insistence on more political support for Ukraine's path to join NATO.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas expressed interest in the NATO top job during an event hosted by POLITICO in November. But NATO officials say she's not in the mix since she has not declared her candidacy. The same goes for Latvia's Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, who did a mini media tour last year to test the waters.