(Last Updated on September 18, 2015 by Editor)
ZIMBABWE – The envisaged formation of the grand coalition among the opposition political parties in the country supposedly fronted by the former Vice President Dr Joyce Mujuru of the yet to be launched People First party and Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC-T could turn out to be a script on paper with no fruits in future.
The coalition would die a still birth because the two political figures, Mujuru and Tsvangirai come from different backgrounds that seem to be like water and oil which are difficult to mix.
Zimbabweans should not be fooled into believing that Mujuru and Tsvangirai could suddenly become their messiahs when they have already showed that they are not. In actual fact the two politicians have different egos that would make them fail to coexist in the formation of that coalition if ever it is going to be formed. Both the two are power hungry who would not let one of them lead the coalition thereby complicating the formation of that coalition. The fact that Mujuru decided to come up with her People First project without joining the MDC-T which has been around for some years shows that the coalition would not materialize.
Actually, it is surprising that the Zimbabwean political parties could manifest their coward to the extent that they cannot stand on their own as they believe that having coalitions are the way forward to dislodge ZANU PF from power. Mai Mujuru who has decided to challenge her former boss President Robert Gabriel Mugabe is so new in the opposition politics and one wonders why she would want to have a coalition with another opposition party as a way of challenging President Mugabe. It is naïve for her to come up with a political party and then fail to be her own person. Rushing to other already existing political parties as a way of having a supposedly strong support base from the electorate is a sign of politically immaturity.
Does that make any political sense for Dr Mujuru to form a political party and then fail to stand alone, only to have a coalition with other opposition parties? Such a move could turn out to be doomed because if one forms his/her political party it would be on the understanding that he/she is good enough to be a leader. So Mujuru`s move to talk about the issue of coalition with the MDC-T could turn out to be a betrayal to her supporters who have been calling Morgan Tsvangirai a puppet of the west.
On the other hand the coalition could die a still birth because Morgan Tsvangirai feels that he is a strong opposition leader who has been in the field for more than a decade and no one can come in front of him and be leader in place of him. People should realize that successive splits of the MDC party were caused by Morgan Tsvangirai who felt that his throne should not be challenged by anyone from his party so the coalition would materialize as long Tsvangirai is not at the helm of that coalition. On the other hand Mai Mujuru who has been second in charge of Zimbabwe for more than a decade would also want to be the leader of the coalition thereby complicating that envisaged coalition.
As such the envisaged coalition between Mujuru and Tsvangirai is bound to fail because the two cannot see themselves being second to each other. They would want to be leaders on their own right and as such the coalition would only appear on paper but fail to materialize.
Actually Mujuru should be strong enough to stand alone as the leader of the People First so that the electorates are not sold a dummy. If Mujuru is to form a coalition with Tsvangirai that would mean that she would have failed as an opposition leader because her manifesto which was delivered to the private media recently would fail to be implemented despite getting applause from members of the public.
In fact, having become an opposition political leader, Mujuru should make sure that she does it alone so that she tests her credibility and support among the electorate. As someone who thinks that she can wrestle power from the revolutionary party in which she was part of until her sacking by President Mugabe last year, Mujuru should not fall prey to puppetry movements by having a coalition with Tsvangirai a confirmed puppet of the western countries.
Mujuru should realize that one cannot form a political party just to form a coalition when one has shown the world that he/she is strong enough to be a leader. What is surprising the Zimbabweans is that Tsvangirai and Mujuru who for the past decade were not on speaking terms politically as they were in different political parties would all of sudden embrace each other and form a coalition to challenge the supremacy of ZANU PF. Mujuru has been on the record with her former ZANU PF party calling Tsvangirai a puppet of the west and the same Mujuru wants to surprise all her supporters by seeing good in Tsvangirai`s person and deeds. This could turn out to be a joke of the decade if ever that coalition materializes.
Tsvangirai and Mujuru should both realize that Zimbabweans need visionary and skillful leaders who can stand on their own as to stir the country out of economic demise. Having a coalition, brings too many economic blueprints cannot make any economic sense because people would be confused which blueprint to embrace thereby failing to see anything good from such leaders.
The coalition of the two would not be of any substance as both have shown the electorate that they are not visionary and skillful leaders who can take Zimbabwe out of its economic doldrums.
Actually, people are not stupid as they are quite aware that the coalition of that sort is not Zimbabwean but foreign in nature. It is clear that that envisaged coalition is coming from the western countries who think that for opposition political parties to be able to dislodge ruling parties in Africa, they need to form coalitions.
As such, the concept of puppetry in African opposition parties is what makes it possible for some opposition political parties to rush to the western countries for political advice and such an envisaged coalition between Tsvangirai and Mujuru is as a result of such puppetry advice from the west.