via West abandons ‘dead horse’ Tsvangirai | The Herald February 24, 2015
The West has abandoned MDC-T leader and former Prime Minister Mr Morgan Tsvangirai after losing successive elections to President Mugabe as they realise that their preferred “horse” will not bring the desired illegal regime change in Zimbabwe, a leading American think-tank has revealed.
Washington-based Cato Institute for Global Liberty and Prosperity — established to specialise on public advocacy, media exposure and societal influence — said in Zanu-PF, Zimbabweans had the Government they deserved.
“It is true that they (West) have abandoned (Mr) Morgan Tsvangirai,” said Cato Institute senior policy analyst Mr Marian Tupy.
“It is very sad, but it is very true. It is like putting your money on a horse in a race hoping that he wins and if he fails, you may do it a couple of more times, ultimately you decide that the person is unconversant.
“A lot of people have looked at the way Tsvangirai was regrettably outmanoeuvred not because he does want to, but because he simply did not have ability to prevail.”
Mr Tsvangirai has successively lost elections to President Mugabe, plunging to his worst defeat in the 2013 harmonised elections when he garnered a mere 33,94 percent of the vote to President Mugabe’s 61,09 percent.
Zanu-PF commands two thirds of the 210 seats in the National Assembly, winning 160 while the MDC-T managed 49.
One seat went to an independent candidate.
Since the elections, Mr Tsvangirai’s Western handlers dumped him with the party’s financial woes worsening after donors withdrew.
Mr Tupy said the international community was beginning to appreciate President Mugabe as the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe.
In any case, he said, many people were wrong in thinking that the Government of National Unity would strengthen the MDC-T as the opposite happened.
Said Mr Tupy: “(While) everybody assumed that the power sharing agreement would strengthen the MDC and weaken Zanu-PF, the opposite happened.
“The MDC-T was outmanoeuvred. (President) Mugabe won the election and he has at least as part of the international community goals, regained some of the legitimacy he has lost.”
The Anglo-Saxon alliance of the United States, Britain and Australia have stubbornly refused to recognise the harmonised elections that have been endorsed by the African Union, Sadc, Comesa, ACP and over 40 countries spread across five continents as a credible expression of the will of Zimbabweans.
He said during the inclusive Government, Mr Tsvangirai and his party turned out to be “less impressive”, losing support in the process.
“There was the expectation that after four or five years of power sharing the MDC will be rewarded for good governance and for the improvements that Zimbabwe has accomplished,” Mr Tupy.
“Two things happened, one was that the MDC ministers and Tsvangirai himself turned out to be less impressive than people hoped-certainly Tsvangirai’s personal life and his failings.
“Secondly, it turned out that Mugabe and his Zanu-PF still enjoy quite a bit of support within the Zimbabwean electorate. It is incomprehensive that so many people should still support Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF, but since they do, a lot of people seem to be decided that the Zimbabwe people have a Government they deserve.”
Personally, Mr Tsvangirai has been in the media for wrong reasons, with his bed-hopping antics hogging the headlines and spilling into the courts culminating in an abortive wedding to his customary wife, Ms Elizabeth Macheka.
Since his first wife, Susan’s death in a car accident in 2009, Mr Tsvangirai has been linked to several women.
COMMENTS
winning an election against mugabe is not “illegal regime change” —
its called electoral democracy.
Just as always, the Herald is dishonest.
Even the Roman Catholic Church remarked after the election that no one thought that Zanu PF would win.
It may be true that the West has lost respect for Morgan, because it looks like he has abused party and state funds. Just like Zanu PF.
The unfortunate truth is that when MDC had the opportunity, Mr. T did not maintain control of the party, allowing the MDC elected officials to individually go wild at the feeding trough, showing themselves to be not a whit less greedy than ZANU-PF.
True, Mugabe did everything in his power (and beyond) to vex the attempts by Mr. T to fix what Mugabe and ZANU-PF had screwed up, and the subsequent election was flat stolen by Mugabe, just as the previous ones… but the actions of MDC made it much easier.
After that, Tsvangirai’s defiant grip on MDC power was the hammer, and all the in-fighting in MDC added the nails.
Zim needs not simply a change in administration, but a savior.
While I agree with my fellow scribers, it is true we need a saviour. My question to all and sundry is what kind and lets be very honest about it too.
But how can anyone in his normal senses expect zanu pf to lose elections which it participates in, controls and refrees. Even if the strongest ever candidate emerges, (s)he will never win elections which under current conditions. It is just the same thing that could have happened to Mugabe himself had the 1980 elections been controlled by Smith and company. He would not have won. To break this yoke in Zimbabwe we need electioins being conducted by a body independent of zanu pf or any other party, not even by SADC or AU becoz these have shown bias, may be the UN itself. Otherwise it’s an exercise in futility expecting to win elections where one of the candidates is a referee. He will give himself dubious penalties and will ignore all fouls his team committs but blows the whistle at the slightest foul committed by the opposition camp. If the west blames Tsvangirai for his losses then they are also a dead horse themselves becoz they do not understand the environment under which elections are conducted in Zimbabwe. In fact Tsvangirai never lost all elections, he won in 2008 and even his so-called losses would have been resounding victories minus zanu pf chicanery
no one will ever win an election against ZPF. Regime change will only happen when the citizens of this country have had enough(which happened a long time ago) and they feel sufficiently angered by the goings on to go into the streets and throw out the ZPF rogues. There will be losses but ZPF would never recover if that were to happen. Power to the People! I think ZPF once also beleived in that slogan
Story by the the herald ,Ha Ha
Yet ‘dead donkey Bob’ was abandoned much longer ago.
You can only abandon MT if you subscribe to the Herald’s cheap propaganda. Ndotoshaya vanotenga chipepa ichi kuti vakakwana. 2013 zvakaitika we all know so only fools will sanitize such so called “victory”