The Next UN Sec-Gen
BBC and Washington Monthly both report that the odds-on favorite is Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who is currently that country’s foreign minister.
The Wiki entry isn’t very revealing about what Mr. Ban (apparently he is supposed to be referred to by his first name) is all about. The last para of the BBC report provides some potential consolation:
….. the most powerful member states, particularly the US, want a world-class administrator rather than a globe-trotting diplomatic star - and in Mr Ban they may have found their man, he adds.
Of all the things you can say about Kofi Annan, one of them is certainly NOT “world-class administrator.” Mr. Ban has a corruption clean-up task that rivals that of the mythical Hercules cleaning out the Augean stables:
The fifth task of Hercules was to clean the Augean stables, where thousands of cattle were housed, in a single day; Hercules diverted two rivers so that they would flow into the Augean stables.
Mr. Ban doesn’t need to divert waters through the UN, but he does need to force the fresh air of personal and official financial transparency to make its way through Turtle Bay. What Hercules is said to have done may end up looking easy by comparison, especially if what Paul Wolfowitz is facing at the World Bank is any indication.
What will be really interesting, is seeing how he contributes to the potential UN sactions/Actions (or in-actions) on North Korea.
Comment by Porkopolis — October 4, 2006 @ 10:54 am