Three EU countries — Germany, Austria and Portugal — are bidding for two non-permanent seats on the U.N.’s most powerful body in a General Assembly vote set for Wednesday. Portugal, thanks to its strong ties with Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, is generally regarded as a shoo-in for the two-year term beginning in 2027. That leaves Germany and Austria — countries bound by close historical and cultural ties, but also occasional tensions — competing for the final seat.
Germany is the Goliath in the contest, yet that has not stopped German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul from aggressively lobbying Berlin’s case, reflecting Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s determination to secure every possible source of international leverage to bolster Germany’s export-driven economy and strengthen its influence on the global stage. Wadephul flew to New York at the end of last week to lobby countries to vote for Germany.
“When it comes to global crises, Germany wants to bring its influence to bear,” Wadephul said shortly after his arrival. “That is only fitting for the world’s third-largest economy.”
Austrian diplomats, by contrast, have been making a virtue of their relative diminutiveness.
“As a small country that is nonaligned and militarily neutral, we can play a very special role: Because it’s not about the rights of the political heavyweights, but the balance of rights among all states,” said the Austrian diplomat, speaking to POLITICO on condition of anonymity to freely discuss a sensitive matter.
German and Austrian leaders have been unusually candid about how hard they’ve pushed to outmaneuver one another.