Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Guterres Set To Be Confirmed As New UN Secretary General

Antonio Guterres, the former Portuguese Prime Minister, looks set to be confirmed as the new UN Secretary General in a formal vote by the Security Council on Thursday.

It comes after a long selection process involving six informal straw polls, winnowing down 13 candidates for the top job. 

Jonathan Cristol from the World Policy Institute says although it's surprising a Western European prevailed when a candidate from Eastern Europe was favoured in the rotation, Russia in particular is likely to have had its own reasons for supporting Mr. Guterres:

IN: We're going out...
OUT: ...the traditional rotation
DUR: 29 seconds

http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/1005cristol1.mp3

Jonathan Cristol from the World Policy Institute said despite the hope that a woman would be elected this time round, ultimately there wasn't a female candidate who fitted the bill:

IN: Unfortunately, there were...
OUT: ...candidate being overlooked
DUR: 22 seconds


Jonathan Cristol from the World Policy Institute says Helen Clark, the former New Zealand Prime Minister, was perhaps too strong a candidate for some tastes: 

IN: She was from...
OUT: the long run
DUR: 32 seconds


The World Policy Institute's Jonathan Cristol says Antonio Guterres isn't seen as a threat by Russia:

IN: If you look at...
OUT: ...been much tougher
DUR: 27 seconds
POT: 22 seconds (...have been ideal) 


The World Policy Institute's Jonathan Cristol says Antonio Guterres might not be too different from the current Secretary General:

IN: If you're looking...
OUT: ...of particular issues
DUR: 35 seconds