On Friday, the team surveying WTO members about their preferences for a new Director-General, announced that the person least likely to attract a consensus was Brazilian Luiz Felipe de Seixas Corrêa. Early reports indicated that the Brazilians wanted some time to get more information on the consultation, before withdrawing Seixas Corrêa's candidacy.
Monday's Bangkok Post reports the Brazilian foreign minister has announced the Seixas Corrêa's withdrawal: "Brazil withdraws WTO candidate, Lamy still front-runner".
"Brazil has withdrawn its choice to lead the World Trade Organisation but has not decided whom to support from the remaining field of threes, according to Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.
Mr Amorim announced the decision to discontinue the candidacy of Brazilian WTO ambassador Luiz Felipe de Seixas Correa, a day after France's Pascal Lamy, the European Union's pick to head the 148-nation WTO, visited Sao Paulo...
...Mr Amorim criticised the way the selection takes place, saying countries should be given more information when their candidates fail to win enough support.
``It's one thing to have confidentiality, not saying who voted for whom, that's natural,'' he said. ``It's another thing not to give out the numbers.''
The Brazilian foreign minister did not indicate which of the remaining candidates would get Brazil's support. China had supported Seixas Corrêa, and will now be looking for a new candidate.
Alan Beattie reported on the post-Seixas Corrêa environment in today's Financial Times"Lamy takes narrow lead in race for top WTO job". The new round of consultations is to begin this week. France's Pascal Lamy is the favorite. Here are the odds according to the UK bookmaker Ladbrokes:
"The odds against Mr Lamy, previously second favourite, shortened to 11-10. Carlos Pérez del Castillo, the Uruguayan former WTO envoy who used to chair the WTO's general council, was behind Mr Lamy at 5-4. Jaya Krishna Cuttaree, Mauritian foreign minister, was 8-1."
P.S. April 19: I originally thought that Brazil waited a day or so before announcing the withdrawl of Seixas Corrêa, in order to learm more about the results of the consulation - which were not described in a lot of detail by the selection committee. However, this AP story, indicates that he withdrew later on Friday: "Brazil withdraws candidate to lead WTO but hasn't decided whom to support " (via Jamaica Observer, April 17).
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