Trump wants Infantino as UN Secretary-General: New York Post
The US media outlet New York Post reported that US President Donald Trump wants to see FIFA President Gianni Infantino as the next UN Secretary-General. The report said that Trump’s interest in Infantino has increased due to the close relationship established since the start of this year’s World Cup.
The 56-year-old Swiss-born Infantino became close to Trump through the organization of this year’s World Cup. In addition to involving Trump in various events, the top FIFA official also presented him with FIFA’s first ‘Peace Prize’ in December. In a statement, a source close to Trump said that Trump believes Infantino is ‘respected by everyone around the world’ and has a special ability to build unity among people.
The current UN Secretary-General, Portugal’s Antonio Guterres, will resign at the end of December this year. Then the process of selecting a new Secretary-General will begin. Infantino must first win the support of 15 members of the UN Security Council to take the post. After that, the General Assembly must approve it.
However, it is not yet clear whether Infantino himself is interested in the position or whether he has had any discussions with Trump about it. Although the current list of candidates includes some influential figures, including former presidents of Latin America, Trump believes that Infantino has a chance in the race. The New York Post, citing a source, described seven of the current candidates as “weak candidates”.
Among the possible candidates are former socialist President of Chile Michelle Bachelet and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi of Argentina. If Infantino is elected as UN Secretary-General, it would change the long tradition of choosing a candidate from Latin America or the Caribbean. The last UN Secretary-General from the region was Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru, who served from 1982 to 1991.
However, some sources say that the geographical balance issue may not be a major obstacle to Infantino’s candidacy. It is believed that he could receive support from several countries besides Trump. “Only President Trump could come up with such an extraordinary idea,” said Paolo Zampoli, Trump’s special envoy for global partnerships.
He said that Infantino would be well-suited to the role and would be “acceptable to everyone.” According to him, Infantino could bring new momentum to the United Nations’s vast bureaucracy and use sports to forge new connections between the world’s young and poor.
According to Zampoli, there are some similarities between the duties of FIFA president and the UN secretary-general. He said that the UN has to deal with 193 member states, while FIFA has more than 200. Infantino’s past work has proven that he is capable of running a large international organization.
However, there is a big difference between Infantino’s current income as FIFA president and the salary of the UN Secretary-General. Infantino, who earns about $6 million a year from FIFA, would receive a relatively small salary if he became UN Secretary-General. According to recent data, the annual salary of the UN Secretary-General is about $418,000. Meanwhile, Infantino has already announced his candidacy for re-election as FIFA president. The election is scheduled to be held next March. However, Infantino did not immediately comment on a possible candidacy for the post of UN Secretary-General.
