SYDNEY — Australia’s government rejected a request by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday that it back his late bid for the top United Nations job, effectively crushing the former diplomat’s hopes of nabbing the post after he spent months lobbying for government support.
Rudd, the New York-based president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and a polarizing figure in Australian politics, had hoped the conservative government would take the crucial step of formally nominating him to succeed U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon when Ban’s second five-year term ends on Dec. 31.
But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he didn’t feel Rudd was qualified for the job and would not support his bid.
“There is a fundamental threshold point and it is this: Does the government believe, do we believe, do I as prime minister believe that Mr. Rudd is well-suited for that role? My considered judgment is that he is not,” Turnbull told reporters.