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The world's most difficult job

India may have had a horse in the race but the near-certain election of South Korea's Ban Ki-Moon as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations need not occasion any despondency let alone worry in New Delhi. In the fourth straw poll held among the 15 members of the Security Council on Monday, Mr. Ban won not just the positive endorsements of 14 member states but also the concurrence of all five veto-wielding permanent members. Belying some predictions of a poor showing, India's candidate, Shashi Tharoor, performed quite creditably, winning one vote in excess of the nine required to move ahead; however, the fact that one permanent member voted against him rendered his candidature unviable, given especially the overwhelming support garnered by Mr. Ban. Japan, presumably the lone holdout among the Security Council members, has also now come out in support of the South Korean Foreign Minister. With a formal Security Council ballot slated for next Monday and a vote by the General Assembly soon thereafter, Mr. Ban's appointment to the top job in Turtle Bay is a foregone conclusion. On its part, India can take some comfort from the fact that Mr. Tharoor did better than other candidates, maintaining his second position throughout.

In contrast to the election of Kofi Annan in 1996, Boutros Boutros-Ghali in 1991, or Javier Perez de Cuellar in 1981, the selection process this time — barring one late attempt to smear Mr. Ban with the charge of "buying votes" — has gone remarkably smoothly. One reason is Mr. Ban's formidable credentials as an administrator and diplomat. Another surely is the comfort all five permanent members feel with the role of South Korea in international affairs. From being a frontline American ally in the bipolar world, Seoul today has moved to having close relations with Moscow and, more significantly, Beijing. On the economic front, China has supplanted the United States as Korea's largest trading partner and a subtle distancing is evident between Seoul and Washington on the strategic front as well. In the six-party talks with North Korea, for example, South Korea — under its current President, Roh Moo-hyun, and also his predecessor, Kim Dae-jung — has constantly emphasised the importance of diplomacy and dialogue and rejected the path of sanctions and force favoured by the U.S. As Secretary-General, Mr. Ban must extend his dialogue-centric approach to all the world's trouble spots, especially Iran, and work hard to ensure that aggressions such as those against Iraq and Lebanon are not repeated. Mr. Perez de Cuellar famously remarked that bravery was a key qualification for the U.N.'s top job. The next five years will test Mr. Ban's valour as well as discretion. He has the world's best wishes with him.

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