Two weeks into the Ban Ki-moon era at Turtle Bay, there are signs that he is yet to score a decisive victory over the intractable bureaucratic machine, while the machine has already scored a significant number of points.
Several insiders from Kofi Annan's heyday have already been named to key positions, while others are closing in on high-profile jobs. The former U.N. humanitarian coordinator, Jan Egeland of Norway, is being considered for an appointment as Mr. Ban's wandering troubleshooter, mediating disputes in the world's hotspots.
Mr. Egeland is an energetic, press-friendly, aggressive dogooder — a U.N. evangelist who strongly believes that Turtle Bay needs to reform the world, rather than the other way around.
He is also a chartered member of Mr. Annan's inner circle and has constantly butted heads with Washington. It was Mr. Egeland who called the American people "stingy" at a time when "oil for food" and "graft" emerged as the top terms that most of them associated with the United Nations. The new U.N. chief, who has wanted to surround himself with "team players," risks hiring a loose cannon who has never met a microphone that he did not like.
