And in a cabinet meeting which will probably take place next week, the government will have to decide whether to formally nominate the former Labor prime minister as a candidate to succeed Ban Ki-moon as Secretary-General of the UN.
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Kevin Rudd with Foreign minister Julie Bishop.
Mr Rudd’s formal request has always been anticipated and the cabinet, which has had preliminary discussions in the past, is divided.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has asked the government to nominate him for the position of United Nations secretary-general.
When Tony Abbott was prime minister, he tried to avoid backing Mr Rudd’s nomination by asking the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to request an endorsement for NZ’s nomination, Helen Clark.
But Mr Rudd has built a formidable global presence and holds a number of significant roles, including as president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, that makes him a serious candidate.
Ms Bishop told Sky News she will put the matter to cabinet.
Rudd used to lead the Labor Party, while Bishop and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull are from the Liberal Party.
A number of highly qualified candidates from eastern Europe are in the running, but reports claim Rudd is banking on the field to be spread thin between them all, and that under such a deadlock, Rudd could announce himself as a consensus candidate.
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Asked whether Labor would support Rudd’s nomination two days before the election, the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said he “supports Australians when they make their bids on the worldwide stage”, likening it to his support for the Australian team at the Rio Olympics. Competition between the United States and Russian Federation and Eastern European candidates hindering each other leaves open the possibility of a compromise outsider.
