The first informal straw poll to select the next Secretary-General of the United Nations officially began on Thursday, with candidates competing to succeed Portugal's António Guterres, who has completed two five year terms in office.
The occasion coincided with the election of Egypt's former foreign minister as Secretary-General of the Arab League. There is nothing remarkable about either development. International institutions are exhausted, while the world is burdened with crises and gripped by extreme fragility. Six candidates are vying for the UN's top post. They come from peripheral states, possess modest résumés, and not one of them appears more capable than Mr. Guterres, who himself proved unable to stir this lethargic world into action.
Guterres recalls the title of Robert Musil's masterpiece, The Man Without Qualities. A Secretary-General is not expected to perform miracles, but at the very least the office demands the appearance of relentless engagement. That was certainly the case with Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who, despite his advancing age, was in constant motion, traveling tirelessly, working ceaselessly, and searching for solutions.
Six women and one man are competing for the position, with the former president of Chile regarded as the leading contender. But what does a candidate from Chile, or her rivals from Ecuador and Costa Rica, represent to a world living in fear? These are all peripheral countries that many people could scarcely locate on a map, while the entire international order stands on the brink.
It is a mistake to regard the office of Secretary-General as merely a ceremonial post reserved for official photographs and formal receptions. It was once occupied by figures such as Dag Hammarskjöld, U Thant, and Kurt Waldheim. Today's contest, by contrast, appears to be little more than a race among bureaucrats and members of the international establishment. The pace and magnitude of global events have become astonishing in their sheer unpredictability. Who could have imagined that Egypt would one day come under missile attack without any direct provocation? Or that for half a century Iran would function as a vast weapons factory, above and below ground, all in the name of Jerusalem, Kuwait, and Bahrain? What comes next will be even greater.
