By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, October 16 -- Two days before the UN elections for Security Council seats, Finland's Permanent Representative Jarmo Viinanen told Inner City Press his country has 165 committed votes.
Since as also exclusively reported yesterday supporters of Luxembourg are using a figure of 150 promises, this Finnish count seemed incongruous. Inner City Press replied to Ambassador Viinanen, "If people can be believed."
Viinanen told Inner City Press, "I cannot doubt when my colleagues and my friends say that they will support us. I believe in them."
By this math, even in the light most favorable to Australia, it could get the 28 votes not "committed" to Finland, and the 43 that Luxembourg's not claiming, for a total of 71. While we don't expect a vote count that low, it would be grist for a growing debate in Australia if the country over-spent in its bid to return to the Security Council.
In the other, Asia race Cambodia's representative Hor Nam Bora has made another pitch to Inner City Press, after responses to his first and surprising candid argument. This one includes:
"As one of nearly 40% of UN member states which have never served on the Security Council and been given the opportunity to influence international affairs at the highest level, Cambodia would represent a new voice -- one of the world’s smaller countries."
We'll have more on this. Watch this site.
