A former foreign minister in a conservative Canadian government is backing former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd to be the next United Nations chief.
John Baird - who resigned from his Canadian cabinet post last year and describes himself as an unabashed fan of Australia's John Howard - told Fairfax Media from Toronto he thought Mr Rudd was the person best qualified to lead the UN.
"I'm a conservative from Canada, so I was quite surprised at how much I came to admire Kevin as a colleague," Mr Baird said.
He said Mr Rudd was "idealistic but pragmatic", keenly aware of Asia, development and environment challenges and "very good at bringing people together" - comments at odds with often stinging assessments of Mr Rudd's record in local politics.
Kevin Rudd and then Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird (centre) feed the kangaroos during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2011 in Perth.Credit: Getty images
"I think he would do Australia proud. It would be a huge asset to have an Australian national as Secretary-General," Mr Baird said.
Mr Rudd must first wait to find whether Malcolm Turnbull and his cabinet will swallow partisan pride and formally nominate him as a candidate - perhaps as early as this week.
Some members of Mr Turnbull's frontbench have previously described Mr Rudd as an embarrassment.
Should the nomination go ahead, Mr Rudd will then be in a race against 12 international candidates who have already declared and have pitched their case in public debates for the first time in UN history.
John Baird, former Canadian foreign affairs minister in a conservative government.Credit: Getty images
The tradition of rotating the UN top job across geographic regions and a strong desire among countries to see the first woman lead the UN had led to a widespread view an eastern European woman is the favourite.
But close observers say intense backroom lobbying of the five permanent powers on the Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US - is expected to decide the outcome in the coming months, before the present Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon finishes his term in December.
Kevin Rudd, as foreign minister, addresses the United Nations General Assembly in 2010.Credit: AFP
"It really is a decision of the five, and that's that. They make this fuss of consulting, but that's just theatre," said one insider.
The Security Council held the first of what is expected to be several "straw polls" on Friday (Australian time) to whittle down the number of declared candidates, with votes to "encourage", "discourage" or "no opinion".
Illustration: Matt Golding
Former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres​, who later led the UN refugee program, is understood to have received the most early support.
Despite no eastern European having served as secretary-general, early favourite Bulgaria's Irina Bokova is believed to have polled third.
New Zealand's Helen Clark appeared to stumble at the first hurdle, receiving several "discourage" votes.
Any one of the permanent five powers can veto a candidate.
Mr Rudd can still enter the race and there is no rule to stop a country other than Australia nominating him even if Mr Turnbull should decide against it.
East Timor's independence hero Jose Ramos Horta has said Mr Rudd would be "the best Secretary-General".
Most foreign policy experts give Mr Rudd almost no chance of actually becoming the next UN chief, yet acknowledge "almost no chance" is still a far better prospect than any Australian has had before of winning the top job in global diplomacy.
"Rudd would have to be extraordinarily fortunate to win," said Russell Trood, a former Liberal senator and professor of international relations.
"That is not to say he shouldn't try."
Professor Trood said government should nominate Mr Rudd "because it is the right thing to do".
Mr Turnbull would be expected to pen the kind of glowing reference that his conservative New Zealand counterpart John Key wrote for Ms Clark, a former Labour prime minister.
"Helen Clark is a stateswoman of international stature," Mr Key wrote, adding she "has the right mix of political, diplomatic, managerial and modern communication skills which are required for this role."
Mr Baird said the selection of the next UN chief was an "opaque process" yet the widest range of candidates possible should be considered.
"My view is it should be the person with the best qualification. The UN needs the best person with the best skill set, and I think obviously that's Kevin," he said.