COMMENT To have a chance at recovery, Zimbabwe needs a clean break. This is something the long-suffering Zimbabwean electors proved only too aware of when they voted in a first round of presidential elections in March to retire Robert Mugabe. At the least, they now need a strictly defined, internationally monitored, timetable that brings a near-term end to his catastrophic rule.
Yet the power-sharing formulas on offer at Harare talks mediated by Thabo Mbeki, South Africa’s president, have fallen short of this goal. Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, has come under pressure to accept the position of prime minister, with the lead in managing the economy in a national unity government. Mr Mugabe may be willing to relinquish some of his powers. But he has sought to retain the trump card – a grip on the army and police. It is hubristic on his part to think that simply handing over the ruins of Zimbabwe’s economy will be sufficient to persuade the international community to step forward with a rescue package.
