UNSG Race in Uruguay Has Bachelet No Show and Grossi Pre Recorded as Denmark Blocks Press from 2d Poll Aug 21

UNSG Race in Uruguay Has Bachelet No Show and Grossi Pre Recorded as Denmark Blocks Press from 2d Poll Aug 21 by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack UN GATE, Aug 3 –  July 30 brought the first straw poll on the tenth Secretary-General, with Bahrain and Pakistan serving as tellers and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as July's Council President, to give a readout afterward - without giving the results.     The comedy of secrecy was endorsed by supposed reformer Mike Waltz, who said off-camera he had agreed to it - and though the voting favoring Rebeca Grynspan, who among many other things wasted taxpayers' money on a Lear Jet to Afghanistan, Waltz off camera called it a "good start."     Inner City Press, banned from entering the UN now with the complicity of Waltz and his US Mission to the UN, characterizes this as KUNCA (Keep the UN Corrupt Again) rather than Waltz' blue cap-printed MUNGA (Make the UN Great Again, it being unclear when Waltz thinks it was great, whether under Nazi Kurt Waldheim, Kofi Annan, inarticulate Ban Ki-moon or censorious Antonio Guterres).    On August 3, what was supposed to be a multi-participant debate in Uruguay was (much) less than promised:  The Latin America and Caribbean region held its first regional dialogue with its five nominated candidates for UN Secretary-General on August 3, hosted by Uruguay under its CELAC pro tempore presidency. Billed as bringing together Michelle Bachelet, María Fernanda Espinosa, and Rebeca Grynspan in the room, with Rafael Mariano Grossi and Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett joining remotely, the actual roster on the day was thinner than advertised: Bachelet did not appear, sending her apologies. Grossi did not appear live either — his contribution was a pre-recorded video. Too busy using the IAEE and his sock puppets to appear?  Only Espinosa and Grynspan engaged as originally billed, alongside Rodrigues-Birkett online.  A dialogue billed as the region's chance to hear "firsthand" from its candidates delivered, in the end, two candidates live and in person, one on video, one no-show.  Meanwhile inside the UN Demark's Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen, who refused to answer Inner City Press' written inquiry (unlike Ghana and, to some degree, Liberia) said that the next straw poll won't be until August 21. Inner City Press live You Tube here.  Improvements are needed at all levels.  In May, Inner City Press filed a FOIA request with State and USUN for how Waltz spends the US public's money at the UN - two months later, not a single document. Nor has USUN answered two formal letters submitted through its website, the only method offered to contact it from outside. KUNCA.  Waltz's quote, by choice off-camera and not to the Press, saying what he called “deliberations” will be kept confidential as agreed by all Council members - that is, USUN as well:  "the process is underway, first time in 10 years. The Security Council will come to its conclusions in the coming months, I suspect. We need a secretary-general that is going to reform this institution, that is going to make it leaner and more fit for purpose, more relevant on the international stage.  We’re off to a good start with the UN80" - that is, Antonio Guterres' fig leaf initiative for which Waltz is now claiming credit. *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com