'Tory' deputies promote Boris Johnson's candidacy for NATO Secretary General

• Resignation Boris Johnson's farewell before the deputies: "Hasta la vista, baby"

• Madrid Summit Stoltenberg kicks off the NATO summit by urging the allies to "invest more in Defense" in the face of the "brutality" seen in Ukraine

Several conservative deputies have decided to promote the candidacy of 'premier' Boris Johnson as

, before the relief scheduled for September 2023, when former Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg will leave the post.

Tory MPs Mark Francois and Richard Drax are leading the initiative, according to 'The Daily Telegraph'.

"People will probably argue about Boris Johnson's legacy for years, but what is clearly unquestioned is his support for Ukraine in the face of barbarism in Russia," said Mark Francois, a member of the parliamentary defense committee (and one of the strongest supporters of the Brexit).

"If he decided to run, Johnson could trust President Zelenski as a reference," say the promoters of his possible candidacy, who are also

such as deputy Oleksi Goncharenko, one of the first to join the petition.

Tory MP Richard Drax stresses that Johnson's candidacy would surely be

, given misgivings about a possible European Union defense initiative.

"All British candidates for general secretary would be a good choice," Drax declared.

"If Boris Johnson wanted it, surely he would make it."

However, Johnson's supposed nomination would face a difficult hurdle to overcome.

The Secretary General of NATO is appointed unanimously among its 30 members, and it is hard to imagine that some of them support the politician who "broke" the European Union for the position.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, with whom he has maintained a political pulse in the last three years, would possibly be the first to exercise the right of veto.

If elected, moreover, Boris Johnson would have to return to Brussels, the city in which he worked as a correspondent for 'The Daily Telegraph' and in which he was considered little less than persona non grata.

The replacement of Jens Stoltenberg was scheduled for September this year, but the member countries have decided to extend his mandate for another year due to the war in Ukraine.

The 63-year-old former Norwegian prime minister took office in 2014. Among the possible candidates to succeed him is also the current British defense secretary,

.

The sudden boost to Boris Johnson's candidacy - first launched by the conservative tabloid 'The Daily Express' and seconded by 'The Daily Telegraph' - comes in full countdown to his departure from Downing Street, scheduled for September 5 after the election of the new conservative leader.

Current Foreign Secretary Liz Truss stands out as the favorite against former Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak.

The Labor Party has

meanwhile heavily torpedoed Boris Johnson's alleged candidacy alleging his controversial relationship with former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev and his son Eugeny, editor of the 'Evening Standard'.

"The man who secretly met an ex-KGB agent after a NATO summit and can't remember what they talked about can run for Secretary General?" Labor 'number two' Angela asked on Twitter. Rayner.

"I think the answer is 'no'."

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• Boris Johnson

• NATO

• European Union

• Ukraine

• USA

• Russia

• Brexit

• United Kingdom