WTO Fiddles as World Waits

The World Trade Organization has been trying for six months to pick its next director-general, and all it has produced so far is undiplomatic brawling, heated argument and accusations of ill will. The choice between the two leading candidates is not an easy one, but it can, and should, be made now. All that’s needed is willingness of the member countries to put the credibility of the WTO ahead of their own narrow national and regional interests and reach a compromise.

Choosing leaders of international organizations such as the WTO, the United Nations or regional blocs nearly always entails a flurry of backstage diplomacy and deal making. An acceptable candidate ultimately emerges as long as the parties look to the benefit of the whole. That’s not what’s happening at the WTO. Rather, for months now, two camps have been locked in a power struggle, waging rear-guard smear campaigns.

Meanwhile, WTO activities aimed at administering the world trade rules have come to a halt. WTO officials say trade disputes are not being resolved and countries trying to become members have been left waiting. Perhaps most important, the row jeopardizes preparations for a new round of trade liberalization talks scheduled for November in Seattle. The 4-year-old WTO can ill-afford to waste time with these squabbles.

The choice comes down to Mike Moore, a former prime minister of New Zealand who has the backing of the United States and most developed countries, Latin America and some African countries, and Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi, a candidate favored by most Asian and African countries. The tussle over who will succeed outgoing Director-General Renato Ruggiero has been going on for some weeks, but it broke into the open last Friday when the head of the WTO’s ruling council, Tanzanian diplomat Ali Mchumo, urged WTO countries to pick Moore. The proposal unleashed a torrent of accusations from the Supachai camp, widening the breach between the two sides.

This pointless argument must come to an end. The 134 WTO countries have to make a choice. Instead of pointing fingers at one another and trading accusations, the member governments should weigh the two main candidates who stand before them and choose on the basis of merit. The future and credibility of the WTO depend on the quality of its leaders, not on their countries of origin.