‘Peace is the order of the day’

Good afternoon. And I am glad to see all you here today.
   Today, 1 October 2024, is a special day not only for me personally, but also for our military alliance as a whole. The representatives of our member states have decided that I should succeed Jens Stoltenberg as Secretary General of NATO. Since time is of the essence, the danger of a world war has increased alarmingly in recent months and swift action is therefore required, I want to keep it short today, my first day in office, and openly express my plans.
    Today should not be a day of continuity, but a day of change. And a day of truth. Every one of you who has his or her head on straight and still has a little human compassion knows that we have been living with the lie for more than 30 years. We publicly spoke deceptively of peace, freedom and democracy, calling ourselves a ‘defence community’, but in reality, thinking that the end justified the means and that lies were necessary to secure power and wealth in our own countries. We wanted to be accommodating towards our hegemon and assumed that we could ignore the legitimate claims of the majority of humanity.
    After the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, we did not end the Cold War – although the whole of humanity had longed for nothing more. Instead, we gambled away the opportunities for peace in 1990, expanded our sphere of influence without regard for the security interests of other states, and put all our eggs in the basket of the state that now defined itself as the only world power. We were servile in our service to this world power.
     Today we are left with a shattered ruin.
    We have not brought peace, but fear, and we have sown discord and hatred, repeatedly threatening violence – and we have not just threatened. We started or provoked wars and brought material and human misery to many states and peoples of the world. We supported fascist regimes like those in Ukraine and Israel, which, when viewed in the light of day, have nothing in common with the values that we have repeatedly proclaimed publicly but have also paid less and less attention as time went on.
    We have made enemies not only of Russia and China, but of many states and peoples of the world. Instead of containing problems and conflicts and contributing to solutions, we poured oil on the fire and created chaos. The victims number in the millions, the extent of the upheaval and destruction is gigantic. To tell the truth, we became a criminal organisation.
     As a result, we are very, very far from peace and justice in the world today – and we, above all, are responsible for this.
    We cannot go on like this. Peace is the order of the day. My taking office should be a signal of change. I know I will meet with opposition – not from the vast majority of people in our countries or elsewhere in the world, but from the few who blindly want to stick to the old course – and unfortunately still have a lot of power and influence. But that should not stop me. I, we all live better with the truth.
    One of my first acts in office will be to initiate an international peace conference. Representatives of all the world’s nations will be able to participate, and each nation will have the same right to speak and vote. We will present belligerent governments, such as those of Ukraine and Israel, with the alternative of making peace with their neighbours or losing all support immediately. For example, no more weapons for Ukraine and Israel. We will make honest offers of negotiations for a just international peace order based on equality and equal rights to states such as Russia, China and also the Arab world. From now on, our guiding star should be international law and the provisions of the UN Charter on peace and justice. Our hegemonic project of a ‘rules-based international order’ has failed.
    And above all: the power that wanted to be the only world power and still wants to be, will have to take its place in the community of states – as equals among equals. From now on, we will no longer accept ‘exceptionalism’ and ‘indispensability’, not even within NATO.
    Finally, we European NATO members will propose that NATO be dissolved in view of its questionable recent history and lack of future need.
    I look forward to working with all of you, and I cannot wait to get started.
    And with that, I am ready for your questions.

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km. In fact, the Dutchman Mark Rutte succeeded the previous NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on 1 October 2024. He also called a press conference for that day and gave a statement at the beginning. A statement with a wording like the one formulated above and corresponding actions would have been a blessing for humanity. But it would also be a political miracle. But these are very, very rare in politics. And Mark Rutte has actually taken a completely different position – actually just like his predecessor in office. And from what we hear and read, Mark Rutte would be more of a problem than Jens Stoltenberg. Conclusion: It is highly unlikely that NATO’s current principle of force will give way to pure insight – it will most likely take a very clear “Stop!” from the other side for a change of course to occur – the forceful reality must speak.    •