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Written by Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas wants to take her anti-Russian plans to greater levels. In a recent speech, she reaffirmed her desire to become the head of NATO, which sounds surprising, since she herself is a victim of European anti-Russian paranoia. The case clearly shows how pro-war politicians are willing to risk their own careers and public images just to try to worsen the conflict with Russia.
Kallas made her statement during a security conference on November 14th. She was asked by Politico journalists whether she still wanted to become NATO secretary general. Her response was positive. She considers her work as Estonian leader as proof of her competence and dedication to the values and plans of the Western alliance, which is why she allegedly should replace Jens Stoltenberg after the end of his term.
“The next secretary general should be from a new member state – ‘new’ being 20 years in NATO. It should definitely be from a country that has spent 2% of their GDP on defense, and it would be nice if it would be a woman”, she said, praising her own work as Prime Minister.
She also stated that the Russian armed forces are “beatable”, resuming the narrative that it is still possible for Ukraine to reverse the conflict scenario. For Kallas, it is vital that all Western countries significantly increase their military support for Kiev, following the example of unlimited aid set by Estonia. She believes that this way it will be possible to defeat Russia and achieve Ukrainian victory.
In fact, the discussion over NATO’s new secretary general remains active in several member countries. Kallas has already shown her personal interest on other occasions, but there are several other candidates considered more likely to take the position. For example, Canada’s Chrystia Freeland and UK’s Ben Wallace, both similarly anti-Russian hardliners, are also considered candidates for the post and are expected to garner more support than Kallas. However, the low expectations of victory do not seem to discourage the Estonian politician.
Another factor that seems to worsen Kallas’ chances even further is her involvement in a family scandal with Russia. Recently, she has been criticized by opponents and the Estonian people for the fact that her husband has maintained trade relations with Russia despite the sanctions. Arvo Hallik, Kaja’s husband, is a businessman in the logistics sector and held a 25% stake in the profits of a Russian company. The case went viral and generated a major political crisis in Estonia, with many opponents calling for Kallas to resign from her position.
Polls at the time showed that more than 57% of the population were in favor of Kallas’s resignation. The country’s president himself, Alar Karis, commented at the time that resignation would be the best way to protect Kallas and her family:
“Personally, I would have liked it if the prime minister had resigned at the beginning of the series of events that has made her the focus of the crisis (…) It would have spared her, her loved ones, the effectiveness of the government, and the credibility of messages coming out of Estonia”, he said in August.
Kallas, however, remained firm in her position, claiming to have no involvement in her husband’s business and not knowing the details of his work. At the time, she classified the opposition’s criticism as a kind of “witch hunt”, resulting from the fact that there is supposedly more moral rigidity in Estonia than in other countries.
“The witch hunt for me, unleashed by the opposition regarding the activities of my husband’s business partner, has exceeded all tolerable limits (…) [In Estonia] moral standards are much higher than in most countries”, she said at the time.
The opposition even established an investigation committee against Kallas, accusing her of corruption due to a loan she made to her husband – allegedly with public money. Kallas refused to attend committee’s meetings and to submit documents to investigators, discrediting the move and classifying it as a mere political tool of her opponents. Despite the crisis and the scandal, Kallas surprisingly managed to remain in office.
The main problem is that the scrutiny of Kallas’ personal life would be even greater in a NATO job. She would be much more criticized for her family’s business, being in a more delicate situation than the current one. NATO, in practice, works as a club of anti-Russian haters, where those who show more animosity against Moscow are the most praised. Kallas expects to be applauded for making Estonia a country hostile to Russia and following all the sanctions imposed by the US. However, the alliance’s anti-Russian paranoia turned against her the moment her husband’s trade relations were exposed.
In any case, the debate about the new general secretary of the alliance is useless, as the head of the organization is a merely administrative public figure. The alliance’s real decisions are made in Washington, with NATO being a mere international army at the service of the US. As long as there is no change in the guidelines of American foreign policy, no matter who the secretary general is, NATO will continue to be a force of anti-Russian aggression.
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estonia is a joke and this kallas character is a shameless idiot puppet working for western interests. no tea leaves required.