British paper on why Tsvangirai must now retire

Britain’s daily Telegraph says Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai must now do the decent thing. He must resign his leadership of the MDC and retire from politics.

The paper, a conservative daily which normally supported the MDC leader, said there were two major reasons why Tsvangirai could depart with dignity.

“First of all, Tsvangirai has lost three presidential elections in a row. True, each of those struggles was shamelessly manipulated and – even according to the official figures – he won the first round of the last poll in 2008. But life is not fair. In the normal run of politics, a three-time loser would stand down.

“That is particularly true if, like Tsvangirai, the politician in question has led his party for 14 years. Mugabe, power-hungry and self-obsessed, wants to be an eternal president; Tsvangirai can show grace and wisdom by demonstrating that he has no wish to be an eternal opposition leader.”

The second reason was that Tsvangirai had shown time and again that he lacked the qualities of leadership.

“Anyone bidding to remove a politician as ruthless and determined as Mugabe must be an exceptional figure. In particular, his words must carry weight. Friend and foe alike must take him seriously. Put simply, he must mean what he says. Does Tsvangirai fit this mould, or has he always been a man of empty words? Sadly, the latter is true.

“I could quote the many occasions, stretching right back to 2000, when he has promised to lead “mass action” or “resistance” or a “winter of discontent” – and then done nothing at all. I could recall the time in 2006 when Tsvangirai shamelessly urged Zimbabweans to “come out in your millions” to protest against Mugabe – and then failed to come out himself.

“I stand to be corrected, but I don’t believe that Tsvangirai has led a single street demonstration against Mugabe since the foundation of the MDC (he has addressed some illegal rallies, notably in 2008 when he was horribly beaten, but that is something different).

“And, most tellingly of all, I must cite the dismal ritual whereby Tsvangirai threatens to boycott every election – and then (almost) always contests anyway. As a consequence, Tsvangirai has torn his personal credibility to shreds. Everyone knows there is rarely a link between what he says and what he does,” the paper said in an article written by its chief correspondent David Blair.

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