Opinion / Columnist
Opposition grand coalition, just a rhetoric
25 Aug 2016 at 09:25hrs | Views
I was once a believer in opposition coalition politics in Zimbabwe but after reading an article by former Crisis in Zimbabwe executive director, Macdonald Lewanika in the Dailynews of 21 August 2016, titled "Grand coalition is a tough sell", I started revising my thinking over the subject and then decided to pen this article.
Lewanika believes that a grand coalition is a tough sell in the country given the differences among some opposition politics and their modus operandi. Such a view by Lewanika sums it all because some opposition's political backgrounds in Zimbabwe could be a stumbling block to their coalition given that they view things differently beside the fact that they are also all power hungry. Already there have been some indications from some of the opposition political parties that they have a big brother mentality. They assume that if ever a grand coalition is to be formed it has to be centred on them.
In an address to some MDC-T supporters in Kuwadzana over the weekend, Kuwadzana East legislator and MDC-T vice president, Nelson Chamisa said that his political party is the pioneer of opposition parties and must be in charge of all other parties in their coalition agendas. Chamisa told his supporters that the MDC-T has been in the opposition politics for a long time hence there would be pointless for a coalition where the MDC-T plays a second fiddle. He further said the MDC-T party will not accept any election in which his leader Morgan Tsvangirai is not declared the winner clearly showing that he assumes that the grand coalition should be built around Morgan Tsvangirai's leadership.
While Nelson Chamisa is gunning for the grand coalition to be led by the MDC-T leadership on the other hand Tendai Biti's People's Democratic Party (PDP) has already endorsed the Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) leader Dr Joyce Mujuru to lead the envisaged grand coalition. Giving a solidarity speech, in the ZimPF rally held in Binga recently the PDP vice-president Samuel Sipepa-Nkomo said the PDP, is going to support the presidential candidature of Mai Mujuru and noone else, showing that there already some differences of opinion among some opposition political parties on who to lead that grand coalition.
Such differences in views between the MDC-T and PDP on who should be the leader of the grand coalition if ever it materialises shows that the opposition political parties are still away from coming up with that coalition. As pointed out by Macdonald Lewanika in which he said that the coalition faces a tough sell, such a view could be true. Some opposition political parties are power hungry and they cannot imagine a situation where they would be in opposition politics just to be led by other opposition political parties. Being in opposition front some if not all opposition leaders want to be at the helm of the country hence being in opposition politics to be led by other opposition political parties points to nothing.
Actually any grand coalition of some opposition political parties could face some problems as there could be some higher likelihood of squabbling for candidature amongst the various political parties as any party would prefer their own leader to lead it. Nelson Chamisa's view and that of Sipepa Moyo cannot be taken lightly. Already there is a sign that some disagreements could emerge in the process of choosing the grand coalition leader. Some would argue that the MDC-T has been in the field for more than two decades hence it needs to remain the face of the opposition such that the grand coalition should be formed and cemented around it.
On the hand those in support of Dr Joyce Mujuru to head the grand coalition would say that the MDC-T failed to wrestle power from the ruling party ZANU PF for more than two decades hence the ZimPF leader should be given the opportunity to lead. Some disagreements could also lead others to think that giving the leadership to Dr Mujuru would be similar to retaining ZANU PF leadership as the two, ZANU PF and ZimPF are differentiated by a thin line in their ideology and history. Such an argument by the perceived MDC-T supporters and other political parties could hold water because whatever the ZimPF party could be saying against ZANU PF would only make people to equate it with a situation where a right ear could be blaming the left ear when both have failed to detect a sound of a coming car. So the scenario is that the ZimPF have been in ZANU PF for more than three decades failing to say anything bad against the party only to say it now after their dismissal from this revolutionary party. The ZimPF's historical background in ZANU PF could work against such plans for this party to lead the grand coalition.
In politics anything is possible. Chamisa could be right that the grand coalition should be centred around the MDC-T leadership since they are the once who have been in opposition for a long time. Giving the ZimPF leadership of the grand coalition could be rewarding ZANU PF indirectly. Who knows may be the dismissal of Dr Mujuru and other senior members from ZANU PF was stage-managed to hoodwink the opposition political parties into welcoming Dr Mujuru as their own. So a grand coalition led by the perceived new kid in the political playing ground could come to haunt the well-established opposition political parties in the country.
Even if the grand coalition is to succeed and then form a new government but there could be some higher chances of political parties squabbling over ministerial and other high ranking government positions. So with some of the members of the MDC-T and the ZimPF having tasted cabinet posts before, they would be expecting to be given preferences over others thereby creating total disagreements in the opposition grand coalition. On the other hand if opposition coalition is to win in the 2018 elections, there would be possibility of squabbling on the sharing of government funds allocated to political parties resulting in the split of that coalition.
However, the opposition parties easily forgets that the so-called coalition may not be the panacea to winning elections against Zanu PF as they are inherently hamstrung by administrative and ideological deficiencies that make them unelectable. None of them have functional political structures as they are continually embroiled in leadership strife.
As for the MDC-T, the party has never known any stability since its inception as power hungry senior officials are always on each other's throat, seeking to elbow each other out of leadership positions. Due to such squabbling, the party has so far divided into other political smithereens namely, People Democratic Party (PDP), Renewal Democratic Party of Zimbabwe (RDPZ), Professor Welshman Ncube's MDC, MDC-M, National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and many other innumerable but inconsequential political parties.
Similarly it is a dream that is farfetched that Joyce Mujuru and her People First movement can form a formidable coalition as all of them are power hungry. It seems there is profusion and confusion in the rank and file hierarchy of the party as there is no clear strategy on what to do real. Party officials are also embroiled in leadership squabbles as power hungry politicians such as Didymus Mutasa, Sylvester Nguni and Bright Matonga are plotting and scheming to worm themselves up the echelons of power.
A critical analysis of the existing political landscape shows that a grand coalition would remain a tall order as long as the opposition parties are not united.
Lewanika believes that a grand coalition is a tough sell in the country given the differences among some opposition politics and their modus operandi. Such a view by Lewanika sums it all because some opposition's political backgrounds in Zimbabwe could be a stumbling block to their coalition given that they view things differently beside the fact that they are also all power hungry. Already there have been some indications from some of the opposition political parties that they have a big brother mentality. They assume that if ever a grand coalition is to be formed it has to be centred on them.
In an address to some MDC-T supporters in Kuwadzana over the weekend, Kuwadzana East legislator and MDC-T vice president, Nelson Chamisa said that his political party is the pioneer of opposition parties and must be in charge of all other parties in their coalition agendas. Chamisa told his supporters that the MDC-T has been in the opposition politics for a long time hence there would be pointless for a coalition where the MDC-T plays a second fiddle. He further said the MDC-T party will not accept any election in which his leader Morgan Tsvangirai is not declared the winner clearly showing that he assumes that the grand coalition should be built around Morgan Tsvangirai's leadership.
While Nelson Chamisa is gunning for the grand coalition to be led by the MDC-T leadership on the other hand Tendai Biti's People's Democratic Party (PDP) has already endorsed the Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) leader Dr Joyce Mujuru to lead the envisaged grand coalition. Giving a solidarity speech, in the ZimPF rally held in Binga recently the PDP vice-president Samuel Sipepa-Nkomo said the PDP, is going to support the presidential candidature of Mai Mujuru and noone else, showing that there already some differences of opinion among some opposition political parties on who to lead that grand coalition.
Such differences in views between the MDC-T and PDP on who should be the leader of the grand coalition if ever it materialises shows that the opposition political parties are still away from coming up with that coalition. As pointed out by Macdonald Lewanika in which he said that the coalition faces a tough sell, such a view could be true. Some opposition political parties are power hungry and they cannot imagine a situation where they would be in opposition politics just to be led by other opposition political parties. Being in opposition front some if not all opposition leaders want to be at the helm of the country hence being in opposition politics to be led by other opposition political parties points to nothing.
Actually any grand coalition of some opposition political parties could face some problems as there could be some higher likelihood of squabbling for candidature amongst the various political parties as any party would prefer their own leader to lead it. Nelson Chamisa's view and that of Sipepa Moyo cannot be taken lightly. Already there is a sign that some disagreements could emerge in the process of choosing the grand coalition leader. Some would argue that the MDC-T has been in the field for more than two decades hence it needs to remain the face of the opposition such that the grand coalition should be formed and cemented around it.
On the hand those in support of Dr Joyce Mujuru to head the grand coalition would say that the MDC-T failed to wrestle power from the ruling party ZANU PF for more than two decades hence the ZimPF leader should be given the opportunity to lead. Some disagreements could also lead others to think that giving the leadership to Dr Mujuru would be similar to retaining ZANU PF leadership as the two, ZANU PF and ZimPF are differentiated by a thin line in their ideology and history. Such an argument by the perceived MDC-T supporters and other political parties could hold water because whatever the ZimPF party could be saying against ZANU PF would only make people to equate it with a situation where a right ear could be blaming the left ear when both have failed to detect a sound of a coming car. So the scenario is that the ZimPF have been in ZANU PF for more than three decades failing to say anything bad against the party only to say it now after their dismissal from this revolutionary party. The ZimPF's historical background in ZANU PF could work against such plans for this party to lead the grand coalition.
In politics anything is possible. Chamisa could be right that the grand coalition should be centred around the MDC-T leadership since they are the once who have been in opposition for a long time. Giving the ZimPF leadership of the grand coalition could be rewarding ZANU PF indirectly. Who knows may be the dismissal of Dr Mujuru and other senior members from ZANU PF was stage-managed to hoodwink the opposition political parties into welcoming Dr Mujuru as their own. So a grand coalition led by the perceived new kid in the political playing ground could come to haunt the well-established opposition political parties in the country.
Even if the grand coalition is to succeed and then form a new government but there could be some higher chances of political parties squabbling over ministerial and other high ranking government positions. So with some of the members of the MDC-T and the ZimPF having tasted cabinet posts before, they would be expecting to be given preferences over others thereby creating total disagreements in the opposition grand coalition. On the other hand if opposition coalition is to win in the 2018 elections, there would be possibility of squabbling on the sharing of government funds allocated to political parties resulting in the split of that coalition.
However, the opposition parties easily forgets that the so-called coalition may not be the panacea to winning elections against Zanu PF as they are inherently hamstrung by administrative and ideological deficiencies that make them unelectable. None of them have functional political structures as they are continually embroiled in leadership strife.
As for the MDC-T, the party has never known any stability since its inception as power hungry senior officials are always on each other's throat, seeking to elbow each other out of leadership positions. Due to such squabbling, the party has so far divided into other political smithereens namely, People Democratic Party (PDP), Renewal Democratic Party of Zimbabwe (RDPZ), Professor Welshman Ncube's MDC, MDC-M, National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and many other innumerable but inconsequential political parties.
Similarly it is a dream that is farfetched that Joyce Mujuru and her People First movement can form a formidable coalition as all of them are power hungry. It seems there is profusion and confusion in the rank and file hierarchy of the party as there is no clear strategy on what to do real. Party officials are also embroiled in leadership squabbles as power hungry politicians such as Didymus Mutasa, Sylvester Nguni and Bright Matonga are plotting and scheming to worm themselves up the echelons of power.
A critical analysis of the existing political landscape shows that a grand coalition would remain a tall order as long as the opposition parties are not united.
Source - John Mukumbo
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