Tsvangirai Takes It To The Public

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, still struggling to gain any real power in the coalition government he entered with President Mugabe in February, this week made his battle public. At a two-day convention of the Movement For Democratic Change, Tsvangirai made the following statements:

"We have not yet succeeded in restoring the rule of law ... our people do not live free from fear, hunger and poverty," he said.

The official state media remained biased and there was only limited freedom of movement and expression, he said.

"Our members continue to be the victims of political persecution," Tsvangirai said. "That society for which we are striving bears little resemblance to the reality in which all of us live today," he said.[SOURCE]

Currently, Prime Minister Tsvangirai and President Mugabe are locked in a power struggle over the appointment of the head of Zimbabwe's central bank, a post that would have much power, and the ability to influence the head of state and government decisions. The current Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono, appointed by Mugabe, believes that Tsvangirai and his party, the MDC have a personal vendetta against him, while the Prime Minister claims this is not true, saying that the international financial community dislikes and distrusts Gono, and thus his position harms Zimbabwe and their recovery efforts. Tsvangirai has gone so far as to propose a new law that would supersede Gono's authority and replace him with a non-executive director.

Meanwhile, 85-year-old President Mugabe's succession is in question. Mugabe has stated that he will not step down until he is sure his departure would not lead the destruction of his party, the Zanu PF, which has held power since Zimbabwe's independence. An open election could be held as early as December, although no challengers have presented themselves. Current Prime Minister Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in last year's presidential elections, but withdrew from a run-off election because he believed political violence would prevent free and fair proceedings. And, having already won, he already had sufficient political capital to get a toehold into government; it was the ball that began rolling toward today's unity government. Although the European Union has given their blessing to the "new government" in Zimbabwe, they are a long way from truly unified.