Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák ended second in the final decisive secret vote for the UN Secretary General, last week. The UN Security Council officially proposed the winner, former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, to become the next Secretary General. He'll have to be confirmed by the UN General Assembly. Having placed right behind Guterres, Lajčák was the best candidate from among the eastern European countries, which were thought to be the top contenders for the post. Despite the loss, the Slovak Minister highlighted the positives, which his campaign has brought. "I can say that Slovakia has thus become a global player and that the campaign has helped us to find new friends and open up new opportunities for developing cooperation," said Lajčák.
Lajčák was allegedly supported by China and Russia, while Great Britain and the USA vetoed him and France abstained. "There will be a need for better coordination; we weren't unified enough, sympathetic enough and individual interests often pervaded over the interests of the regional group," noted Lajčák, reacting to the initial promise that all countries from Eastern Europe would jointly support whichever candidate with the best odds. Slovak MEP Eduard Kukan criticised the stance of the Russian Federation. He believes that Russia should have been more actively engaged in promoting Lajčák.
According to the initial secret straw polls of the UN Security Council Lajčák did not seem to be among the top favourites for the post having finished at the bottom of the list several times. Lajčák faced criticism especially due to Slovakia's stance in the discussions regarding the migration crisis. In July in an interview for the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle he was reminded of anti-Muslim statements by Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is the leader of Lajčák's native Smer-SD party.
