BRUSSELS, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- He has just over a year of ministerial experience under his belt, failed to impress when party leader and appears wooden in front of television cameras, but NATO ambassadors Monday brushed aside these concerns to name Dutch Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as the military alliance's new chief.
It is a risky move for an organization struggling to find a role in the post Sept. 11, 2001, world and desperately trying to piece itself together after the divisive war to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
With a lackluster list of candidates for the alliance's top job -- Canadian Finance Minister John Manley was the only other serious contender -- NATO leaders were left with little choice but to plump for the untested and relatively unknown de Hoop Scheffer.
"He was the best of the rest," says one Dutch journalist. "It is certainly hard to imagine anyone saying 'wow' about his candidacy."
Uninspiring de Hoop Scheffer may be, but few question his diplomatic credentials. After brief stints in the Dutch embassy in Ghana and at NATO's Brussels headquarters, the 55-year old law graduate worked as private secretary to four foreign ministers before entering parliament in 1986.
"He is very skilled at walking on eggshells," said former Foreign Minister Hans van den Broek. Alfred van Standen, head of the Dutch Institute for International Relations, described the married father-of-two as a "very experienced and seasoned diplomat."
De Hoop Scheffer's tightrope walking skills came to the fore during the standoff between Baghdad and Washington when the newly appointed foreign minister managed to support the U.S. stance without alienating his European colleagues.
The Dutchman's canny tactic was to back U.S. President George W. Bush politically without committing the Netherlands militarily.
The center-right government of Jan-Peter Balkenende declined to sign the infamous "letter of eight" supporting American military intervention in the Gulf and refused to dispatch Dutch troops to the region during the conflict.
However, the coalition government gave its blessing to the U.S.-led military strike and later sent 1,500 soldiers to police southern Iraq.
Bush was eternally grateful for the show of support from the distinctly "Old Europe" Netherlands and repaid the favor by backing de Hoop Scheffer's candidacy after current Secretary-General George Robertson announced his departure earlier this year.
The Dutch foreign minister's unswerving loyalty to the United States has prompted some to question whether he will have the metal to stand up to Washington when he takes over the NATO reigns in January.
"De Hoop Scheffer needs to work under the direction of others -- which is why the United States likes him," said one Dutch parliamentarian.
During the war against Iraq, former Premier Wim Kok accused de Hoop Scheffer of being Bush's lapdog, while Dutch daily Trouw said the former air force officer was so Atlanticist he "sleeps in Stars and Stripes pajamas."
The third Dutch NATO chief certainly sings from the same hymn sheet as Bush. Defending the alliance's continued relevance Monday, he told the BBC: "The enemy is not the traditional enemy any more, but the enemy for instance is international terrorism, the enemy is instability, the enemy is insecurity - that is the reason why NATO is in Afghanistan, why NATO is supporting the Polish division in Iraq."
A fervent Atlanticist with close contacts in Washington, de Hoop Scheffer is nevertheless a European first and foremost.
Married to a French teacher, the keen jogger and squash-player speaks fluent English, German and French as well as his native Dutch. By contrast, one NATO official quipped: "Robertson speaks only two languages -- English and Scottish."
Knowledge of foreign tongues is not the only way Robertson and de Hoop Scheffer differ.
The current alliance chief cut his political teeth as a trade union negotiator for Scottish whisky workers and it shows in his pugnacious debating style -- which British Prime Minister Tony Blair has likened to "diplomatic thuggery."
De Hoop Scheffer prefers smooth-talking to arm-twisting, but commentators wonder whether this softly-softly approach will be successful in a fractious military club like NATO.
"He is a good diplomat, but is he a good leader?" pondered one Dutch journalist.
Based on past experience, the answer would appear to be "no."
Despite over 10 years in the Dutch diplomatic service, de Hoop Scheffer never rose to the rank of ambassador, preferring to remain in the shadow of foreign ministers.
As a politician, he became leader of the Christian Democrats in 1997, but was forced to step down in 2001 after an internal revolt within the party.
"It was not a big surprise people wanted to get rid of him," said one political reporter. "He failed to get public opinion behind him because he is not someone who can speak to a wider audience. He is too intellectual, too phlegmatic and lacks charisma."
De Hoop Scheffer's proven ability to build bridges and strike compromises may be just what NATO needs after the trauma of the Iraq conflict, which saw the 19-member alliance split down the middle over whether to back the U.S. stance. But many analysts wonder whether the Dutchman will have the vision to carve out a role for NATO in the post-Cold War era and the strength to bash heads together if another major crisis erupts.
