Why Guterres is perfect for UN Secretary General post

Last week, the UN Security Council – the UN’s most powerful body – chose Antonio Guterres, the former Prime Minister of Portugal, as UN Secretary General designate. Mr Guterres, who until 2015 was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, beat one of the most impressive and deepest fields of candidates for the world’s top diplomat. Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres will arrive at the Secretary General’s desk in January with arguably the most accomplished resume of any occupant of the lofty office. But he inherits a job that has been made nearly impossible by the collapse of any discernible world order. Gone are the days when geopolitical schisms – and flashpoints – were predictable. The world is today one giant cesspool of uncertainty.

Let me tell you why the selection of Guterres really matters for the UN and the world at this juncture. First, the man brings a set of skills and intellectual gifts that are rare at that level of global governance. A former academic, Guterres graduated high school as the best student in Portugal. He cut his political teeth as a member – and later a leader – of the Socialist Party which was involved in ending Marcelo Caetono’s dictatorship in 1974. That revolution brought democracy to Portugal and ended the Portuguese Empire. The liberation of Portugal’s African colonies was bound up with that revolution. In 1995, the Socialist Party won elections and Mr. Guterres became Prime Minister. Political parties in Europe, unlike their Kenyan counterparts, are largely driven by ideology. That’s why the fact that Guterres belonged to the Socialist Party – a dying species in a Europe that’s headed to the right – speaks volumes about the man. He was an immensely popular first term PM because he and the Socialist Party restructured the Portuguese economy to make it responsive to working and middle class families. He led an economic boom that reduced deficits and expanded social programs for the poor. In particular, he introduced cash transfer schemes – welfare programmes – that reduced the privation of the poor and the working poor. He gave economic meaning to people. He brought Portugal back to international respectability.

Importantly, Guterres served as vice president of Socialist International, the worldwide association of political parties that seeks to establish social democracy. This point is important because it suggests the types of issues that may be his priority as UN Secretary General. He is bound to emphasize the pursuit of a global economy that’s responsive to the world’s poor. He may work with the Bretton Woods institutions – the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the GATT-WTO regime – to more aggressively combat poverty and bring more sanity to markets. This would be great news for the Global South but also for the working classes in Europe and emerging economies. He will be a voice for social and economic justice.

Secondly, we should discern an important character about the man based on his tenure as Prime Minister in Portugal. He introduced a style of governance in Portugal that was hitherto unknown. He demystified government and officialdom by initiating a deliberative, consultative, and dialogic relationship with all sectors of society. These discussions led to broadly legitimate policy choices. He believed that the voices of the people – no matter their station in life – should be heard. He created a culture of public ownership over policy. This is an ethos that’s solely needed within international institutions like the UN and within countries. The anger that so many feel in the world today is a result of exclusion, degradation, discrimination, marginalisation, and rejection. Thirdly, Guterres can restore the UN’s moral, legal, and political voice on the global stage. Today, the world powers that once ruled the roost are flummoxed by the complexities of change, or paralysed by their diminished power and prestige. As such, there is a large void in global leadership. In this lacunae have stepped in very sinister actors – both state and non-state – who now either wreak havoc or hold large swathes hostage. Extremist philosophies and angry political, even nihilistic movements, have become common fare. Some of these are driven by exclusion but many others are demagogic and hateful. No matter the causes, the world badly needs leadership to address the chasms and cleavages of hopelessness that bedevil us.

Finally, Guterres will take office in the age of despair, massive and gross human rights violations, and moral dwarfism. He assumes office over a weakened UN. But also a UN that badly needs reform to bring into the twenty-first century and out of its own obsolescence. It’s been seventy years since the UN came into being. The world has changed, but the UN remains stuck in the museum of antiquities. Guterres needs a bold vision. I guarantee the world will support him.