Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is promoting a new alliance of democratic states that can also stand up to the USA if necessary.
May 12, 2026, 4:55 a.mMay 12, 2026, 4:55 a.m
“I have admired the USA since my childhood and viewed the United States as the natural leader of the free world,” said Rasmussen at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit this Tuesday to the news agency network Democracy News Alliance (DNA), of which the German Press Agency is also a member. Now it seems that US President Donald Trump is withdrawing his country from this role. “That’s why we need a new leader of the free world,” he said.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen no longer considers the USA to be a reliable partner under Donald Trump.Image: keystone
The Dane Rasmussen sees Australia, New Zealand and South Korea as desired members for the new alliance, in addition to the EU, Great Britain, Japan and Canada. It could therefore be called D7, based on the existing G7 group of leading western industrialized countries, where the D stands for democracy.
Together against economic coercion
“If we act together, if we pool our strengths and appear united, then we represent an impressive power,” said Rasmussen, who was also Prime Minister of Denmark (2001-2009) for many years before his time as NATO Secretary General (2009-2014). If you are exposed to economic coercion and react to it together, that will ensure respect in Beijing or, if necessary, in Washington. For this purpose, an economic Article 5 could be formulated within the D7 alliance, based on NATO’s famous assistance clause, according to which an economic attack on one would be viewed as an attack on all.
Specifically, the pro-democratic alliance should also set international norms and standards for the use of new technologies and reduce dependencies in the supply of raw materials. It is also important to invest together in the Global South in order to create an alternative to Chinese investments.
“And within such an alliance, threats against each other would of course be unacceptable,” added Rasmussen, referring to the US actions against Denmark in the Greenland conflict. Such behavior harms the world’s democracies and only serves the interests of autocrats like Russian President Vladimir Putin. “My biggest concern at the moment is the unpredictable behavior of the Trump administration,” said the 73-year-old. (sda/dpa)