Word: jakobson
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Waldheim's election was the result of the nuanced realities of big-power politics. The U.S. plainly preferred Finland's energetic Max Jakobson, a former journalist and amateur historian who could give the U.N. the leadership that it lacked under the mercurial, vacillating U Thant. But Jakobson's strong qualities made him unacceptable to the Soviets who "know from experience what a tough Finn is like, and didn't want him," as a State Department official put it last week. The Soviets first tried unsuccessfully to persuade U Thant, who is suffering from a bleeding ulcer...
Early Lead. Since Waldheim was also entirely acceptable to Washington, he took an early lead in the intricate balloting devised for the occasion by the Security Council. In the first round, Jakobson was second, but was stymied by a Soviet veto on the grounds, said the Russians, that their Arab friends would object to the fact that he is Jewish (a contention that the Arabs privately denied). The Soviets also vetoed another contender strongly favored by Washington: Argentina's popular Carlos Ortiz de Rozas, who, like Jakobson, gave every promise of making the most of the job and moreover...
...vote, as it turned out, was that of the Chinese. Abandoning hope of electing an Asian or African, they voted for Jakobson, whose country had recognized the Peking government as early as 1950. But after two ballots, it became apparent that their vote against Waldheim could frustrate all efforts to come up with a common choice. With fresh instructions from Peking, Ambassador Huang Hua abstained on the next ballot. This was enough to put the Austrian over the top with eleven yes votes and only one undisclosed no-which did not come from a veto-wielding power. Next...
...that he would continue in the job." Officially, the Chinese would say nothing about the search for a successor except "We are very new here." The neutral Finns have long been on relatively cordial terms with China (they recognized Peking in 1950), and this is thought to be in Jakobson's favor. But the Chinese entered the U.N. with such a resounding bid for support from the Third World (see following story) that they may eventually oppose any European...
Officially, nobody is supposed to campaign at all. Unofficially, the various candidates are paying an unusual amount of attention to the 42 African votes, nearly one-third of the total. Jakobson has been dining discreetly with a number of African representatives at Le Perigord, a fancy French restaurant near his office; Waldheim went on a goodwill tour of Africa. Less prominent contenders can be observed buttonholing potential supporters at the coffee bar in the U.N. delegates' lounge...