Helen Clark may still have her Kiwi twang, but she is living the life of a New York native.

Her high rise apartment in the gold-fronted Trump Tower is ideally located for the theatre and art gallery shows which she knows like a local.

Clark is a frequent visitor to both whenever she is back in town between international trips as head of the United Nations Development Programme.

The job seemed tailor-made for Clark when she was casting around for a new job after Labour lost the 2008 election.

But almost from day one, people wondered if Clark already had her sights set on something higher.

Britain's Guardian news site recently headlined a lengthy article "will Helen Clark be the first woman to run the United Nations?".

It is not alone in posing the question.

When Foreign Minister Murray McCully was in New York this week he dropped in on Clark.

Security Council business and news from home were probably on the agenda. But with the Government asked regularly about its position should Clark throw her hat in the ring, McCully likely wanted an update on her ambitions as well.

In New York, Clark's name is among those regularly floated as a possible contender.

Opinion is divided, however, on whether she is in with a chance.

The murky selection process has more to do with geopolitical concerns that finding the best person for the job.

To run, Clark would need to be nominated by the New Zealand Government.

Prime MInister John Key has already pledged his support should Clark decide to contest.. But as with most things, there are strings attached.

New Zealand supports the view that it is Eastern Europe's "turn" to hold the position. That may have been a sweetener offered to Eastern Europe during our race for a UN Security Council seat.

If Eastern Europe coalesced around a single candidate, it would be bad form to go back on that position.

The Eastern Europeans have previously struggled to present a united front on the matter, however - a point noted by McCully in New York this week.

Meanwhile, New Zealand is at the forefront of countries demanding reform of the process for electing a secretary-general, which is currently dictated by the so-called P5, or permanent members of the Security Council - the US, Russia, France, Britain and China.

New Zealand was among signatories to a letter describing the current system as "a concealed process with exclusive participation".

Signatories want the process thrown open to all-comers with a nomination period, among other changes.

Nobody expects the P5 to relinquish control completely but they may be prepared to move on a nomination process.

That could work against Clark as much as for her.

A nomination process would throw the contest wide open; lobbying is already under way pushing for a merit-based selection process, while there is also momentum behind a campaign to elect a woman as the next secretary-general.

Clark is among the "outstanding female candidates" listed on the website. But many of the others have biographies at least as glittering as hers and a nomination process would likely see a number of them put their name forward.

The push for reform of the selection process will come to a head at the General Assembly in September and New Zealand has already tried to force the debate by putting it on the agenda for a Security Council discussion this month.

That move has been applauded by UN watchers and it is believed to have sparked a frank discussion among Security Council members.

Even if the General Assembly fails to effect any change, Clark's prospects are not being written off, despite the arcane and hidebound system for electing a successor to Ban Ki-moon.

It is not set in stone that it is Eastern Europe's "turn" and in the past the regional rotation system has not been faithfully followed.

Some countries believe it is Western Europe's turn anyway.

New Zealand is part of the Western Europe "and others" grouping, which would bolster Clark's chances.

Clark herself is keeping her powder dry, refusing to confirm she will contest the job.

But she has said enough to make it clear that she would declare her hand publicly if the stars aligned on those other matters, like the question of which region was due its "turn", which in turn would clear the way for the Government to back her candidacy.

* Tracy Watkins travelled to New York with support from The Security Council Report, which is funded by the New Zealand Government and others.





