6:13 AM Mar 10, 1995

MESSY OUTLOOK FOR WTO HEAD CHOICE

Geneva 10 Mar (Chakravarthi Raghavan) -- The Chairman of the WTO General Council, Amb. Kesavapani of Singapore was due Friday to complete his latest informal head count, one confined to the two candidates in the running for the top position.

Several of the Latin American delegations who had previously supported Salinas are reported to have indicated now their support to Ruggiero, with a few others expressing no preference.

It is not very clear whether Kesavapani will announce the results of his head-count on Monday or Tuesday to an informal heads of delegations meeting. He is yet to set such a meeting.

The idea when the new head count was started was it would show a long lead for the EU candidate Renato Ruggiero and this will persuade Korea's Kim Chul-Su to withdraw enabling a consensus. But Kim has been quoted some days ago, before the new head count confined to the two was decided, that he would withdraw only if Ruggiero is seen as commanding 80-90% of the votes. Thus, the outlook for a consensus choice to succeed Peter Sutherland seemed messy, with the two principals (US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor and EU GATT Commissioner Leon Brittan) not even speaking to each other directly, but only through the media so far.

There have been reports in western media, that often reflect the secretariat views, that Sutherland, is trying to promote a compromise. Sutherland, whose term is to end on 15 March, has flown to the US to go to Boston to accept a doctorate, and is reported to have talked to Kantor over the phone from New York (bad weather stymieing his intention to visit Washington).

Kantor himself is away in Beijing and is not due to return to Washington before Tuesday.

But delegates did not see what Sutherland could do beyond perhaps persuading Kantor and Brittan to talk to each other and find a solution and stop digging themselves into deeper holes.

The US media reports citing officials about their objections to Ruggiero on grounds of his protectionist stance, and other reports about Ruggiero's past (in terms of the murky Italian politics, where as a Christian Democrat Ruggiero has held positions under various governments run, dominated or led by Andreotti and Bettino Craxi) has only added to the nasty atmosphere.

While the American side has come out quite openly against Ruggiero, they have not said at the WTO itself and in the consultation so far that they would block a consensus. But there would be no need for them to do so, if Kim and his supporters don't change.