The United Nations is diplomat central, and when it comes to diplomacy, nothing is ever straight forward. Add in a contest for power and influence in the form of electing a new leader, and the diplomatic waters get even murkier.

Helen Clark will be well used to this by now, from her time heading up the UN’s Development Programme. But even she seemed disappointed and taken aback, when she got less support than promised in the latest internal ballot. Despite a strong showing in debates, she went backwards in the power rankings, from sixth place, to seventh out of eleven.

Reading between the political lines, she seems the victim of double speak. She was clearly promised support from some countries, who then supported another candidate.

But then, she’s not alone in in countries saying one thing, and voting for another. There’s been a lot of talk about the need for a female secretary general. And yet the top candidates are mostly men. There have also been calls to elect on merit, and yet candidates are overwhelmingly Eastern European, because it’s seen as that region’s turn.

It’s not impossible that Helen Clark could still make it. She still has the backing of our Government, which is lobbying hard for her. Five countries have a veto vote, which could take out some of the competition ahead of her. A result is expected by October, which in politics, is an age.

But as she said herself on Twitter, she’s assessing her options. Which are looking increasingly limited.