Rudd’s United Nations bid left to Turnbull

MALCOLM Turnbull has revealed that he will ring Kevin Rudd personally about his potential nomination to lead the United Nations.

Mr Turnbull was expected to contact Mr Rudd before the decision was publicly announced on Friday.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop faced opposition from colleagues to her recommendation that the government nominate Mr Rudd to be a contender to replace Ban Ki-moon.

“No one is asking Turnbull to go out with the pom-poms but any Australian candidate for any worldwide position over the decades has had the support of the Australian diplomatic network to draw on”, said one close observer.

Ms Bishop, the main backer of Mr Rudd in cabinet, recently told the Coalition party room that a “nomination is not an endorsement” but Mr Rudd’s record proved too controversial for some senior ministers. Without that support, Rudd could not be considered for the role.

“If it’s a drag race between Kevin Rudd and Helen Clark, New Zealanders and I reckon a hell of a lot of Australians know who the best candidate is”.

Social Services Minister Christian Porter also declined to discuss the decision on Thursday.

Earlier, Greens leader Richard Di Natale said Australia not supporting the nomination would be “churlish and mean spirited”, while Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said the Rudd candidacy was a challenge of how beholden the Prime Minister is “to the hard right of this party”.

Morrison, Dutton, Industry Minister Greg Hunt and several government backbench MPs have publicly questioned his merit and suitability to be secretary-general.

Acting Labor leader Tanya Plibersek told reporters in Sydney there were few people more qualified to lead the United Nations than Mr Rudd, given his diplomatic experience.

“The only difference I think between Peter Costello’s condition here and that of Kevin Rudd is that I think that Peter Costello would be eminently qualified to take on that role”.

A year before, when the two were still prime ministers, a mischievous official briefing note prepared by Australian diplomats ahead of Mr Rudd’s visit to New Zealand described Ms Clark as a left-wing control freak – which she later dismissed as a “hoot”.

Mr Key even joked Paul Henry’s daughter Bella would make a better Secretary-General than Mr Rudd.

Labor in the other hand is backing its former leader but according to pollies, when Labor was in government “Kevin has been running a relentless campaign to undermine the government”.