Under pressure from South Africa – but to the consternation of some Western governments – Morgan Tsvangirai won the approval of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to take a step that could conceivably mark the beginning of the end of Mr Mugabe's 28-year-rule but could equally well hand him a much needed lifeline.
I'm doing what's best for the people of Zimbabwe, Mr Tsvangirai told hundreds of jubilant supporters who had gathered outside the MDC headquarters in central Harare.
He has walked into a trap, a Western official countered. Mugabe is not serious about this . . . He will honour as little as he can.
Mr Mugabe, 84, will remain President but Mr Tsvangirai will be sworn in as Prime Minister on February 11. The ministries will be divided between the parties. Zanu (PF) will keep the Defence Ministry, which controls the Army, while the Home Ministry, which controls the police, will be shared.
Mr Tsvangirai said that he wanted the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the regional body which first brokered the power-sharing agreement last September, to address outstanding issues before February 11. These include the release of all political abductees and the appointments of the AttorneyGeneral, Reserve Bank Governor and provincial governors. He did not say what he would do if SADC failed to resolve those disputes and insisted: We are unequivocal. We will go into this Government.
Supporters say that it will at least end Mr Mugabe's monopoly on power and give the MDC a chance to win support by rebuilding Zimbabwe's social services. They hope that Western donors will give aid to the MDC-run health and education ministries.
They also say that they have no choice in a country where 94 per cent are jobless, 80 per cent depend on food aid and wild inflation has rendered the currency worthless.
Now is the time to put aside our differences and prioritise the welfare of the people, Mr Tsvangirai said. We are not saying this is the solution to Zimbabwe's crisis. Instead, our participation signifies that we have chosen to continue the struggle for a democratic Zimbabwe in a new arena.
Opponents, including senior members of Mr Tsvangirai's own party, argue that the MDC's participation will give Mr Mugabe a veneer of legitimacy while Zanu (PF) retains the levers of power. They fear his regime will coopt MDC ministers and MPs through bribery and ultimately swallow up the MDC just as it destroyed Joshua Nkomo's rival Zapu party when it was forced to merge with Zanu (PF) in 1987 after the massacre of 20,000 members of the Ndebele people.
Britain and the US have made plain their opposition to a unity government. One Western official said he saw no chance of the West giving development aid to Zimbabwe or lifting sanctions against Mr Mugabe's inner circle without a fundamental change of direction from the Government.
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said last night: The people of Zimbabwe have too long been denied the government they deserve and have suffered hardship, political violence and misrule . . . The new government will be judged on its actions. . . This will determine our formal engagement, including the provision of donor support.
South Africa said that the MDC's decision would help Zimbabwe to recover and would lead to fair elections. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said, though, that the MDC was being driven into a potential political trap.
The MDC won Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections last March and Mr Tsvangirai won the first round of the presidential election, but he withdrew days before the second round after Mr Mugabe's regime unleashed a wave of violence.
SADC brokered the power-sharing agreement to end the political deadlock that ensued, but its implementation has been delayed for months by arguments over how power should be divided. The MDC has now signed up to an arrangement that is a far cry from the clear-cut victory it should have enjoyed.
Mr Tsvangirai received a rapturous welcome from a huge crowd of supporters as he left yesterday's meeting of the MDC's national council. There's light at the end of the tunnel, proclaimed Yona Gilbert, 37 and unemployed.
This is a chance for the MDC to influence things from the inside, said Wellington Ndawana, 37, a redundant salesman. The MDC is full of lawyers and intellectuals. They are cleverer than one old man. – Timesonline
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