In spite of the battle in Seattle and the subsequent inertia that has gripped the World Trade Organization, Supachai Panitchpakdi is looking forward to the challenge of taking over from Mike Moore as head of the trade body next year. He promises that he will be an active leader who will try to revive the cause of global trade, which he admits is facing difficulties.
"All these mobs at international meetings, against globalization and against all sorts of things international," he laments. "I see it back in my own country in reaction to the crisis. Maybe it is the crisis that has intensified the fears. Maybe it is the globalization process around the world that has mutually strengthened the fears."
Whatever the reasons, Supachai expresses unhappiness that, as he puts it, "The WTO has crept back into its shell too much. They have become too cautious in an attempt to avoid any repetition of the disaster."