With the South Korean foreign minister, Ban Ki-moon, about to become U.N. secretary-general, Turtle Bay’s old guard is planting booby traps in the form of snippy comments to the press and crucial last-minute appointments.

Secretary-General Annan and his deputy, Mark Malloch Brown, are trying to enlist an old ally from Germany, Joschka Fischer, for a highly visible diplomatic mission to Lebanon. This awkward last-minute maneuver can only be seen as part of the race for deputy secretary-general and other key positions in Mr. Ban’s United Nations.

Although South Korea is in Asia, top General Assembly diplomats say its economy, the world’s 13th largest, makes it a developed, “northern” country. They want someone from the “south” as Mr. Ban’s deputy. Europeans diplomats, meanwhile, would like to see a can-do reformer from their own continent in the position.

The Latvian president, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, who just withdrew from the secretary-general race with a denunciation of Turtle Bay’s “old boys’ network,” may be just such a candidate, though it is unclear how she can overcome Russia’s objections.

Mr. Malloch Brown, despite his categorical denials, is said by colleagues to have been angling to stay on as deputy. If so, that run may now have reached its end.

Thus far, Mr. Fischer, a former foreign minister of Germany who is now a professor at Princeton University, has been reluctant to accept the job offer. Still, several U.N. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity told me over the weekend that Mr. Annan is going to name Mr. Fischer soon as his personal envoy. Mr. Fischer would be in charge of overseeing the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which has led to a lull in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

On the face of it, Mr. Fischer, a well-known and (in some circles) highly regarded international figure, is an ideal candidate to represent the United Nations in Lebanon.

But now that all the competitors have withdrawn from the secretary-general race, Mr. Annan has an heir. The council will give its blessing to Mr. Ban today, and the General Assembly will rubber-stamp him as early as next week. Why, then, the rush to appoint Mr. Fischer? Is there a pressing void in Lebanon that requires quick action?

To be sure, competent diplomacy now could be helpful, with President Assad of Syria making fresh war threats and Hezbollah replenishing its arsenal to guarantee that Lebanon won’t sit out the next conflict.

But Mr. Annan already has at least four senior men dealing with Lebanon: a Middle East envoy, Alvaro de Soto; a special envoy for southern Lebanon, Geir Pedersen; a personal envoy overseeing the implementation of resolution 1559, Terje Roed-Larsen, and one unnamed — some say nonexistent — “facilitator” to secure the release of Israeli and Lebanese prisoners.

Appointing Mr. Fischer to implement resolution 1701 would be a noconfidence vote most of all in Mr. Roed Larsen, a veteran Middle East negotiator responsible for implementing the council resolution that preceded it.

Critics of the Norwegian Mr. Roed-Larsen say his determination to implement the resolution has earned him powerful pro-Syrian enemies in Beirut. The United Nations, this argument goes, needs to regain its “neutrality.” However, a top German figure saddled with historical baggage is hardly the ideal choice to appease those Arabs who consider the current envoy a “Zionist agent.”

For all those reasons, plus the fact that it was made just weeks before the new administration takes charge at Turtle Bay, Mr. Fischer is said to be skeptical of Mr. Annan’s proposal. But why would the old guard on the 38th floor even consider it?

Last month, officials in Mr. Annan’s inner circle appointed Mr. Ban’s campaign manager, Kyung-wha Kang, to a top U.N. position, hoping, perhaps, to gain future favors from her boss. Now they seem to have realized that Mr. Ban may not reciprocate, so they have begun smearing him in the press instead.

“The mood among staff is glum,” an unnamed official told the Guardian in a much talked-about article this weekend. “We are not very excited about the outcome.”

Another 38th-floorer said Mr. Ban is “pretty faceless and does not have much charisma.” Mr. Ban’s new nickname is “decaffeinated Kofi,” other officials told the London newspaper.

However effective anonymous press quotations may be, they will not ensure the “continuity” that some at Turtle Bay so crave. Therefore, I expect more last-minute appointments aimed at maintaining the influence of the current top players.

Some advice for Mr. Ban: There are lots of good people working on the top floors at Turtle Bay. Fire all of them before you even think of rehiring any.