Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has formally announced that he is a candidate to become NATO's next secretary-general at a meeting with the alliance's ambassadors, Reuters quoted Danish media as reporting today. Danish national broadcaster DR quoted sources as saying that while Rasmussen had said he wanted the job, Turkey was still the main opponent to his candidacy. DR said the other 26 member states were not opposed to him succeeding the current secretary-general, Dutchman Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Rasmussen's office could not immediately be reached to comment on the report, but Michael Ulveman, the prime minister's spokesman, told Daily Politiken he had no comment. NATO wants to name a new secretary-general at a summit co-hosted by France and Germany starting on Friday. De Hoop Scheffer can stay on until July 31 in his current mandate and several nations have stressed the decision on naming a successor can be delayed.
