Not being American, I did not celebrate Thanksgiving Day yesterday - besides, even if I did, there has not been much to give thanks for. US President George W. Bush stays at the White House for another four years, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has another term at The Lodge in Canberra and the price of dimpled incontinence nappies shows no sign of decreasing. Nonetheless, despite recent election results revealing that my vaguely liberal leanings are apparently in the minority, I took a mental note by imagining myself as a stuffed turkey and then indulged in an extra large slice of humble pie with lashings of whipped cream. My gym instructor will take a dim view of the latter, but what the heck - if it was not for whipped cream, he would have no excuse to charge exorbitant fees to whip me into shape. Anyway, I blame it all on Kofi Annan. Before I go for the United Nations secretary-general's jugular, I should explain how I have added him to my scapegoat list. In a nutshell, it is simple - there is no one else on it. Since Americans this month gave Mr Bush a clear mandate to do whatever he likes for a second term and Australian voters did the same last month for Mr Howard, I have judiciously had to admit that perhaps I was wrong and they were right. Before their wins, the blame for the sliding dollar, North Korea's nuclear threat, rising global temperatures, worsening terrorism, instability in Iraq and anything else could readily be laid at either of their doors. Now I have little option but to pick on someone else. But what about Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair? Why not vent your spleen, liver and lungs on him instead? That thought crossed my mind, but opinion polls do not paint a rosy picture. Although the British premier is likely to call an election next year, he also looks like a shoo-in. With the world's other potential scapegoats sadly accounted for - Yasser Arafat, bless his soul, has left this veil of tears, Saddam Hussein is behind bars, Osama bin Laden is out of the running until proven to be alive and Fidel Castro is but a shadow of his former revolutionary self - there only remains Mr Annan to kick in the teeth. I must confess he is an easy target. Doubtless, that is why the US Congress, in a series of investigative panels, is targeting him for his role in the UN's oil for food programme in Iraq. On Capitol Hill, 'corruption' is the oft-repeated buzz word, usually preceded by the adjective 'massive', whenever the now-defunct programme to feed Iraq's hungry while reigning in Hussein's spending power is mentioned. Dare I suggest that there may have also been a little American prodding in a UN staff union resolution last week calling for a vote of no confidence in their leader? Mr Annan was not sacked and was instead applauded. UN union president Rosemarie Waters said last Saturday that Mr Annan was in 'a very difficult job under very difficult circumstances' and was 'doing his best'. We in the scapegoat business are having none of that. Mr Annan may be 66 and a loyal UN employee for 42 years, but that is no reason to go easy on him. Having dealt with numerous UN agencies, I can safely say that a mere handful - those involved with refugees, health and the environment - are worth giving the time of day to. Mr Annan gives many speeches on worthy topics, but few ever lead to concrete action. He has done little to end the famed UN employee gravy train, or cut back wasteful spending, as he has promised. Of course, if he pops by for a cup of coffee before his term expires on December 31, 2006, I will be civil. If he offers me a job, I will politely accept it in the interests of investigative journalism. But until the next US or Australian election, he is going to be responsible for every global ill I can think of. Peter Kammerer is the Post's foreign editor
