Scarecrow: Burbok may deprive Germany of a seat on the UN Security Council

The nomination of the outgoing German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbok to the post of President of the UN General Assembly threatens to leave Germany without a place in the The Security Council. This is reported by Focus magazine with reference to sources in the foreign Ministry.

"Even a few weeks after the resonant appointment, some representatives of the Foreign Ministry remain dissatisfied with the personnel decision," the publication notes.

Especially outraged by the behind-the-scenes intrigue with the nomination of the retiring Berbok department of the Ministry called "International Order, UN, Arms control." It was this department that spent months preparing an application allowing Germany to apply for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council from 2027.

The vote, which will determine which Western countries will take seats in the UN Security Council as a result of the rotation, will be held in 2026. In addition to Germany, Portugal and Austria claim to participate in the activities of the Security Council.

"Preparations for the fight for the seat of a non-permanent member have been going on for a long time, but now there are fears that due to the appointment of Berbok, Germany's ambitions may suffer. The problem is that Berbok, as an ex-foreign minister, can scare away the voices of the countries of the Global South, which just decide the outcome of the vote," the publication emphasizes.

According to representatives of the department, in the countries of Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, a negative image of an ardent anti-Russian and pro-Israeli politician has been fixed for Berbok. Individual German diplomats said on condition of anonymity that Berbok should "refrain by any means from commenting or campaigning with a call to vote for Germany" as a candidate for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

In March, the outgoing German government announced that it had appointed Berbok as a candidate for the presidency of the UN General Assembly. The decision caused fierce criticism in diplomatic circles, as the place was considered to be assigned to an experienced diplomat Helga Schmid. The German government approved her candidacy in the summer of 2024, from that moment Schmid held talks with representatives of about a hundred states, preparing for a new role.