Editorial: UN job is a credit to Clark

Opinion

Whatever our individual political allegiances, we should all join in congratulating former Prime Minister Helen Clark on her appointment as the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.

The appointment, which will be formally ratified by the General Assembly, probably next week, is for a term of four years, and is a great achievement which reflects the high esteem in which she is held internationally.

In her time as PM, the MP for Mt Albert sharply divided opinion. That is typically true of strong people (and strong women in particular; a good deal of the criticism levelled at her would never have been voiced if she were a man) and it is certainly true that few if any New Zealanders felt indifferent to her.

If she had a failing as a politician, it was that she was at times ill at ease in person. But even her opponents had to concede that she displayed in her nine years of premiership a fearsome eye for detail and consummate management skills. Holding together Governments that involved Winston Peters was a task that defeated her predecessors; she made it look easy.

Those skills will stand her in very good stead as she takes her place on a world stage. The UNDP is an important organisation and Clark's appointment to head it is an honour in which we can all take pride.