The First Interview Round

Can you strengthen the delivery of commitments?

Questions on reform, the SDGs, the Pact for the Future and its annexes, and gender equality all pointed to the same issue: can the next Secretary-General help turn commitments into outcomes people can feel?

Bachelet framed delivery as a combination of  persistence, balance, and follow-through. She called UN80 “essential” and “a must,” while warning that reform should not weaken development, human rights, or field capacity. She returned repeatedly to country-level implementation, coordination, and leadership that must be “persistent, persistent, persistent.” On gender, she described women as “agents of peace” and “agents of change” and cautioned against reforms that could weaken existing mandates.

Grossi framed delivery in terms of institutional relevance. He said the UN faces “enormous huge doubts” about its “added value,” “efficiency,” and “capacity” to solve problems, and argued that the organization is “supposed to be solving problems on the ground.” He described UN80 as “a first step” and “more a snapshot than a plan for the future.” On development, he pointed to the need for greater convergence, including between New York and Washington. On gender, he cited changes in women’s representation at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Grynspan described delivery as a system problem. She said that “to defend the United Nations today is to have the courage to change it” and argued that the UN is too often “supply-driven” rather than “demand-driven.” Her answers focused on country priorities, debt, fiscal space, trade, and investment, with reform presented as a condition for delivery.

Sall linked delivery to trust, reform, and finance. He argued that the UN must “rationalize,” “simplify,” and “optimize” to regain credibility, and that development should draw on a broader mix of public finance, private investment, trade, and access to credit. He also spoke about reducing risk for developing countries facing debt, climate stress, and low growth.

Can you manage the system?

A second line of questioning focused on the internal workings of the UN: appointments, representation, coordination, and how the system should function under pressure.

Bachelet described the system in terms of legitimacy, discipline, and balance. She argued that if the UN does not “represent the world inside its own secretariat,” it cannot expect trust from outside it. In her answers on appointments, she stressed gender parity, geographic balance, and independence, while also speaking about culture change and the need to avoid slipping back into old habits after reform begins.

Grossi approached the system from a managerial angle. Drawing on the IAEA, he referred to changes in women’s representation, spoke about multilingualism as “essential,” and described an open-door management style. His answers emphasized effectiveness, structure, and morale, especially under budget pressure.

Grynspan described leadership as plural, representative, and high-performing at the same time. She spoke about linguistic and regional diversity, correcting underrepresentation and non-representation, and using talent management more actively. She also suggested restructuring the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and revisiting fragmented planning functions across the system.

Sall emphasized senior political leadership and broad representational trust. He described the Secretary-General as someone who must be able to speak across divides and assemble a team that reflects both competence and the world as it is.

Can you use voice and good offices under pressure?

A third line of questioning focused on how candidates would use the office politically: when to mediate, when to speak, and how to act when the Charter or international law comes under strain.

Bachelet repeatedly returned to prevention, saying “the priority must be prevention,” and argued that the Secretary-General should be “really present,” even “physically present in the field.” She said that when engagement fails, “the Secretary-General has to speak up,” and in cases involving genocide or crimes against humanity, “silence is not an option.”

Grossi described the office more in terms of authority than public voice. He argued for constant engagement with the Security Council and called impartiality “a very lonely place.” He repeatedly presented the Secretary-General as a bridge-builder and interlocutor in situations where states are no longer speaking productively to one another.

Grynspan made peacemaking central. “Peacemaking is the purpose of this organization,” she said, adding that if elected she would “act before conflicts erupt,” “be the first to pick up the phone,” “travel to where the wars are,” and “speak to every party.” The Black Sea Grain Initiative was her main example, and she described that process as one where she “navigated many no’s, until I heard a yes.”

Like Grossi, Sall presented the office as a political bridge-building role. He repeatedly described the Secretary-General as someone who must be “present,” active in mediation, and able to keep channels open even when major powers are blocked.

Can you build trust across power divides?

Questions on trust covered governments, the public, regions, and the relationship between the Secretariat and member states.

Bachelet linked trust to “transparency,” “honesty,” and the ability to deliver results. She spoke about honoring commitments and rebuilding confidence through consistency between what the UN says and what it does.

Grossi was direct about the trust problem. He said many people do not have “a high opinion” of the UN and argued that rebuilding confidence requires clearer communication, better performance, and stronger internal morale.

Grynspan described trust as a political method as much as an outcome. She said it must be rebuilt through presence, communication, integrity, and delivery. She also argued that trust is not only about the Secretary-General and member states, but about creating space for convergence across conflicting interests.

Sall made trust central to his frame. He repeatedly said that the Secretary-General must not be seen as acting “for a camp,” but for the institution. In his answers, credibility depended on fairness, neutrality, and broad accessibility.

Will you act for current and future generations?

Youth, intergenerational equity, digital change, and the world after 2030 appeared across the dialogues in different ways.

Bachelet addressed the issue of performative inclusion of young people, saying youth engagement must not be “a show.” She linked young people to participation, peace and security, community knowledge, and technology, arguing that younger generations often understand digital realities better than institutions do.

Grossi spoke about young people mainly through the lens of relevance and communication. He said the UN is often not “in the least of priorities” for younger generations and argued that the organization must do a better communications job of explaining why its work matters.

Grynspan connected the future to structural transformation. She linked youth to jobs, demography, technology, and long-term development, especially in Africa. She also described a world of “profound transformation,” shaped by AI, trade shifts, and climate pressure, arguing that “we can fragment our actions, but we cannot fragment all of our problems.”

Sall approached the future through demography, finance, and economic inclusion. He linked youth to jobs, migration, and stability, and described AI and digital change as forces that can either deepen or reduce inequality depending on how they are governed.

What comes after 2030?

The dialogues also raised a longer question: whether the UN is only trying to catch up with today’s crises, or whether it is preparing for the world beyond 2030.

Bachelet suggested that UN80 alone will not be enough, because the challenge is not only managerial reform but a changing international order, while Grossi argued that the next Secretary-General will inherit the task of taking reform further. 

Grynspan made the future one of her three central themes, linking it to technology, trade, jobs, and multipolarity. 

Sall spoke about the future mainly in economic and systemic terms, especially financing reform, access to credit, and building workable development models under intensifying pressure.