Political Posturing

The political posturing by both sides in the so-called inclusive Zimbabwe government is approaching farcical proportions. One could swear that the surface dissonance we are witnessing must be the prelude to another episode of an epic comedy. Alas, real lives and livelihoods are at stake in this tragic-comic drama of distortions, accusations and counter-accusations, lies and outright pranks.In the past week, we have witnessed the spectacle of prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai hitch-hiking to every SADC capital, including of all places, Kinshasa and Luanda, in the hope of salvaging what most independent observers know to be a thoroughly flawed agreement whose real purpose is subject and open to interpretation by all parties to it, including SADC. For SADC, the agreement was an exercise in self-congratulation, demonstrating the ability of the regional body to resolve crises in member states. They may be expected to feebly resist anything that seriously detracts from that sense of being in ultimate control of regional affairs. And of course the up-coming World Cup makes it likely that South African president Jacob Zuma may have no choice but to flex his muscles.For the Zimbabwe Movement for Democratic Change(MDC), it was as much forced down their throat by both SADC and Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF as it was by their own short-sighted view that it represented the proverbial "foot in the tent" opportunity without which the movement would be decimated by brutal force. It was as if the movement for once doubted the morality and legitimacy of its decade long fight against ZANU-PF.In the case of ZANU-PF, it was clearly an opportunity to take a breather in the fight to maintain their hold on political power and its attendant benefits. By all accounts, ZANU-PF feels somewhat energized. As long as Mugabe is still around, ZANU-PF will probably be just fine but nature is constantly calling and their failure to seize the opportunity to regroup and renew the party could yet prove to be the final undoing of a party which will clearly not be able to survive its leader's inevitable demise.Our friends in the movement do not have many options: they are where they are not because they chose to be there but because they thought they had run out of options, which left them open to the schemings of SADC and ZANU-PF. There is nowhere to run: they must stand their ground and fight, and win.
Posted by allen at 11:14 AM
Labels: World cup