As reported in Deutsche Welle, Germany was competing with Austria and Portugal for the two seats on the UN Security Council which are allotted to “Western Europe and others,” to serve for two years. Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was in New York, lobbying for the position – and he failed.
In the vote by UN members, Portugal received 134 votes, whereas Austria received 131. Germany, meanwhile, garnered only 104 votes. Wadephul called the outcome “a real disappointment.”
