Bachelet jokes she will not become UN secretary-general as bid falls behind

Michelle Bachelet summed up the difficult state of her campaign to become the next United Nations secretary-general with a blunt admission: “I know I will not be secretary-general.”

The former Chilean president and former UN high commissioner for human rights discussed her prospects at a migration event organized by the Diego Portales University in Chile. Her comments followed unfavorable informal polling among UN Security Council members.

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I know I will not be secretary-general.

Bachelet also addressed what she described as a broader crisis in multilateralism and criticized the role played by U.S. President Donald Trump, whom she said had helped intensify a strategic and structural struggle. She argued that countries also wield soft power through their culture and attractiveness, adding that U.S. soft power had declined while China’s had grown.

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One of the powers countries also have is what is called soft power, which is culture, what makes countries attractive; and it has changed, the soft power of the United States has fallen and the soft power of China has grown a lot.

She then returned to her own candidacy with a laugh, saying, “It is the issue, it is my opinion, I will not be secretary-general, I can give it, but it is a relief.”

Her campaign suffered a second setback in late August, when she received six unfavorable votes in the second informal poll and ranked seventh among eight candidates. The first consultation, held in July, placed her fourth. Bachelet has continued campaigning with support from Brazil and Mexico after Chilean President José Antonio Kast’s government withdrew its endorsement in March, saying her chances of success were “very low.” She has traveled to meet officials from Security Council member states, but has not secured a meeting with Trump.

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It is the issue, it is my opinion, I will not be secretary-general, I can give it, but it is a relief.