And the Next Secretary General Is…

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Forget betting on sports events; for my money, the most fun thing to gamble on these days is over who will be the next Secretary General of the UN. Kofi Annan is due to retire on December 31, and the battle to replace him has been raging for months.

A few weeks ago, Foreign Policy listed descriptions of all the major contenders, and their odds of replacing Annan, but that article appeared too early to take account of India’s recent nominee, Shashi Tharoor. The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, has come out in favor of dark-horse candidate Bill Clinton, although seeing as how most countries believe in the principle of regional rotation and share a bias for candidates from small countries, a Secretary General Clinton faces tall odds (1000 to 1, according to Foreign Policy). To keep abreast of the action, check out this spirited blog maintained by a University of Maryland grad student.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate