A power-sharing deal between the two main parties of Zimbabwean politics, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Zanu-PF, has finally been brokered, ending the stalemate that has dominated Zimbabwe's affairs for months. Morgan Tsvangirai has agreed to fulfil the role of Prime Minister under Robert Mugabe's presidency. Most Zimbabweans, while not happy with the decision, have expressed relief that the crisis is finally over. Mugabe, the 84 year old dictator whose ineffectual and brutal rule brought Zimbabwe to its knees following independence in 1980, greedily forced his flaccid cock into Zimbabwe's mouth (metaphorically) with a paranoid, quixotic speech blaming the country's woes on Britain and the US. The decision is not a compromise or a solution, but a cease-fire. Mugabe still retains the most important powers in government: he controls the army and forms and heads the cabinet. Tsvangirai will have a presence in the new government, but the continuing violence between Zanu-PF and MDC supporters implies that the two factions are hostile and will be unwilling to compromise. Power-sharing deals are difficult and require a genuine sense of cooperation to function. Forcing these two highly personalistic leaders to cooperate is artifice at its best, and is unlikely to solve Zimbabwe's political crisis, let alone the ragged, shit-caked hole where the country's economy used to be.
It is clear to everyone and my dog (Oswald) that progress will not happen as long as Mugabe remains a figure in Zimbabwean politics. He has achieved the near-mythical status of rulers like Kim Jong-Il and Fidel Castro: bitter, crazy old men who seem to be impervious to both deposition and old age. The hopeful statements that have been pouring out of European and American leaders concerning the power-sharing deal ring hollow, as it's pretty clear that we all just want to mark off this chapter and get back to playing Where's Waldo and developing stronger varieties of viagra and rohypnol.
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