The United Nations General Assembly resoundingly turned down Turkey’s drive to join the Security Council, after Ankara’s weak and feckless response to Islamic State and the fighting going on just over its border undercut its own drive to try and project itself as a regional power bordering Europe and the Middle East.

After losing the vote, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu rose from his seat to congratulate his counterpart from Spain, which did get one of the rotating two-year seats on the Council.  Spain won in the third round.  New Zealand secured the necessary two-thirds majority of votes in the first round. 

Kiwi PM John Key credits the “huge amount of effort” put in by a wide range of people over the last decade to secure New Zealand’s place on the UN Security Council.  That includes by former Prime Minister Helen Clark “who started off the process back in 2004”, adding that the win was “a victory for the small states that make up over half the United Nations membership”.

The five states elected to the coveted Security Council seats are New Zealand, Spain, Angola, Malaysia, and Venezuela, which received an overwhelming 181 votes from the 193 member nations – obliterating the United States’ objections.  Naturally, big brother America threw a tantrum.

“Unfortunately, Venezuela’s conduct at the UN has run counter to the spirit of the UN Charter and its violations of human rights at home are at odds with the Charter’s letter,” said Washington’s Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power.

The US torpedoed Venezuela’s last attempt at a rotating seat back in 2006.  This time around, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez dedicated “this huge triumph” to the late President Hugo Chavez and said it came despite a “malign campaign against our country”.