The Sunday Star Times will probably have an article out tomorrow about the possible nomination of Helen Clark to the position of head of the UN Development Programme. David P Farrar over at Kiwiblog leaked the story this afternoon. The position came up at short notice. As Helen put it in a txt (I asked) – she is unsure what’s happening and there will be a lot of top candidates for the role. It is the number 3 position at the UN after all. It is a position that I think Helen should do well in. It will have considerable impact over the next decades as the world population increases and resource extraction hits limits.
What is more interesting is where and how this leaked out. DPF (maybe) got it from some loose diplomatic lips. He asserts that it did not come via the government in NZ. So the logical conclusion is that the information came out of international politics. I’m not sure if that is a good place for a blogger to be.
One theory that springs to mind is that DPF was given the information in order to nobble a nomination. Looking at the usual sewer of Kiwiblog comments is always hard and the comment stream on this post is predictably very vile. It would be a great place to point people to if you wanted to raise concerns about Helen. After all Kiwiblog is the concentrating point for the people who are banned from any other blog with any standards.
The alternative theory whould have to be the usual obfuscation techniques that this government loves. The Sunday paper route is the traditional way of getting a dogwhistle story into the media. Get a report in the Sunday papers, and it virtually forces the rest of the MSM to follow up on Monday. The story then becomes an interesting distraction from whatever else is happening. What’s the bet that next week it’s something the NACT’s don’t want anyone to get a good look at? The linkages between DPF and the Nat’s PR systems are pretty well established. So you’d have to assume a degree of muppetisation going on.
But this is simply speculation, like DPF’s post. For instance I’m unsure exactly how having Helen Clark in New York would cause Angelina Jolie to come to NZ. Perhaps because DPF wants an interview with “la Jolie” ? That reason seems a bit trivial even for him.
As for the job… Well if Helen has been put up for it, and gets it, then I’m sure that she will be the best person that NZ could put up for it. I’m also sure that the world will be a better place for her doing it. Personally I hope that it is all speculation. I’d prefer to keep Helen in NZ to keep helping to train the new MPs.
It’d help in making sure that NACT has the humilitating defeat in 2011 that they are currently heading towards. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a useless government. It is almost as if they think that PR has something to do with reality. That seems to be what Fran O’Sullivan is also picking up on in her forthright way. A do-nothing-of-substance government is probably good for the re-election of Labour. I’m just not sure that it is good for NZ. It’d be nice if they just made an effort as it just looks embarrassing having stunts like this weekend’s Waitangi PR exercise.
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