Belle of the ballistic arsenal
When you need someone to hold off the Russian hordes, look in a Lilliputian land
On 5 June, Denmark’s Constitution Day, politicians from all parties hold speeches around the country. This year, one of them was conspicuously absent. In fact it was the country’s leader, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. She had a scheduling conflict, and the other invitation proved more appealing. Who could blame her? It was a non-job interview at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, USA, in the Oval Office.
The visit was officially described as a periodic checkup on security issues between two stalwart Western allies. But speculation had been swirling for weeks in Denmark and abroad that Frederiksen was a leading candidate for NATO secretary-general when the organization selects a new leader next month. Frederiksen has insisted over and over again that she is not a candidate and she is happy with her current job, but everyone knows that Washington has the biggest vote in the matter.
Viva Pax Americana?
Frederiksen’s senior governing coalition partner, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, took the opportunity to argue against the appointment because it would disrupt the administration’s reform program. Pia Olsen Dyhr, leader of the Socialist People’s Party and Frederiksen’s former ally, said that if it happens, the country would have to hold a new election. Before the meeting with Sleepy Joe, fresh off his latest stumble at a Memorial Day ceremony, Frederiksen did not mince her flattery:
“It is largely thanks to the Americans that there is peace, freedom, and democracy in Europe. This is also the case now, when the USA plays a fantastically important role in relation to Ukraine.”
Is there peace in Europe? Never mind. Frederiksen also lavished praise on the Biden Administration’s big domestic climate initiative and bemoaned the tendency in Europe to “overbureaucratize” such efforts.
Gender equality in employment
After the meeting, which lasted more than twice as long as the planned 45 minutes, she was described as looking very happy (DK). The US is pleased with Denmark’s support for Ukraine, she reported, before reiterating, “I am not in the United States in order to seek another job.” One Congressman she met with, Michael McCaul, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was less discreet:
“I know she’s here because of a conversation about a special job, which I probably shouldn’t talk about. But I believe that she will be an excellent choice.”
Frederiksen also received praise from former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and current Democratic Whip Katherine Clarke, who wouldn’t mind seeing a woman in the post. Others apparently share the opinion that it’s “her turn” to take on the bellicose Putin. Only one male, former Dutch PM Mark Rutte, has been named as a leading candidate.
Maybe these Democrats see her as a possible precaution against a recurrence of the unthinkable—the reelection of the orange NATO-trashing isolationist. Frederiksen was able to accomplish something his rivals have struggled to do—hurt his feelings—with her spontaneous “That’s absurd!” reaction to his proposal to buy Greenland.
Mette Mink-Slayer
If Frederiksen gets the job, it would mark a curious string of leaders from the small Scandinavian countries, not known traditionally for their martial prowess since the Viking Era. The current secretary-general is Jens Stoltenberg from Norway, and his predecessor was Denmark’s own Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Fogh set an example for Mette by abandoning the PM post in 2009 when his Liberal Party government was ailing. The appointment was seen by many as repayment by his buddy Dubya for his staunch support in interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. Of Iraq’s rumored WMDs, Fogh loyally and memorably said, “It’s not something we think. It’s something we know.”
Frederiksen’s most bloodthirsty official act was her approval of the illegal culling of 17 million mink during the pandemic. After leaving the White House, she did manage to fit in a Constitution Day speech at the Danish Embassy after all. You go girl!