“Bachelet’s international standing does not begin or end with the UN election,” Gloria de la Fuente says

Michelle Bachelet’s international projection will not be defined by her bid to become United Nations secretary-general, Gloria de la Fuente said, even after two informal polls produced a difficult outlook for the former Chilean president.

De la Fuente, a former deputy foreign minister and chair of the Horizonte Ciudadano Foundation board, rejected the idea that the Security Council’s recent straw polls had weakened Bachelet politically. Bachelet herself said at a university discussion that she considered reaching the post unlikely after the first two informal ballots.

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Bachelet’s international projection does not begin or end with the UN election.

But de la Fuente argued that the candidacy serves a larger purpose. She said it seeks to defend the continued relevance of the multilateral system at a time of global geopolitical fragmentation.

The UN selection process remains open, despite the challenging scenario in the Security Council. De la Fuente also questioned whether the informal poll results should be described as political damage to Bachelet’s standing.

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I do not know whether there has been any political weakening.