Why Germany failed in UN Security Council membership race

Experts have pointed to Germany’s controversial diplomatic approaches, apart from its late campaigning, as key reasons for its defeat in the race for non-permanent seats in the UN Security Council. BERLIN, June 5 — Germany suffered its first-ever defeat in a UN Security Council election on Wednesday, losing to Portugal and Austria in the race for non-permanent seats. Why did Europe’s largest economy, which had successfully secured one of the Western European seats on the Security Council every eight years for decades, lose the election this time?

Here is what we know. A QUICK DEFEAT Without going through multiple rounds of voting like Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines, Germany, a country that has long sought a permanent seat on the Security Council, was knocked out in the first round of the race in the group of Western European and Others. According to the election rules, candidates must secure a two-thirds majority of votes cast to win a seat.