Foreign Minister Murray McCully believes former Prime Minister Helen Clark had the best start possible in the first phase of her bid to become the next Secretary General of the United Nations.
It was such a strong start that he does not think the late entry of former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd would damage Clark's chances very much.
"Obviously it might send a mixed signal to some countries about our part of the world but I think Helen has established a firm profile of her own and if Kevin Rudd does come in, I don't think it is going to change her fortunes greatly," Mr McCully said in an interview from Europe.
"The fact that someone from our part of the world is regarded as a front-runner is I think an indication that it is going as well as it could possibly go at this stage."
Mr McCully met up with Helen Clark in New York last week when he attended a Security Council debate on the Middle East, following a session the previous week in which all nine candidates had an individual session with the General Assembly.