Obsession with Tsvangirai weakens ‘united front’

Opinion by Itai Dzamara

It appears likely that Zimbabwe’s political stage shall witness another twist in the form of some opposition elements forming another entity, being branded as a ‘united front’, and, all indications point towards another flop.

First and foremost, the fact that the initiative appears to be spearheaded by elements with a common characteristic, that of having failed to topple Morgan Tsvangirai in the MDC, presents very intriguing and revealing analysis.

Leader of the small MDC formation, Welshman Ncube has already started staking his claim for a leading role in the forging of the ‘united front’. From the other end, the envisaged front looks set to be the final destination of the group of ‘rebels’ in the main MDC formation, led by Elton Mangoma and whose bid to oust Tsvangirai has just flopped, disastrously.

The Ncube and Mangoma camps are unapologetic about both their loathe and dislike of Tsvangirai – which, at the most, comes out as their major motivation. In my view, as in the past, that inherent attitude and obsession with antagonism for Tsvangirai becomes the united front proponents’ major undoing well ahead of take off.

The seemingly obsessive fixation with lambasting and dismissing Tsvangirai within the discourse of advocating for the united front already being displayed by Ncube, in my view, shoots them in the foot.

Not to imply that Tsvangirai is infallible and beyond reproach, but, clearly, he remains more popular and commanding huge grassroots support, which is the same target for the other players pushing to outdo him.

As has just happened with the Mangoma mission, it is almost obvious that the strategy of trying to lambast Tsvangirai as an entry point for the new mission turns into a boomerang for Ncube and Mangoma.

Recent indications and push for the Mangoma mission have proved that Tsvangirai remains very strong in terms of grassroots support, and I am convinced that the strategy of trying to lambast him and write him off, can only be self defeating for Ncube, Mangoma and others.

If the suggestion could be that Tsvangirai’s rivals have no other route than trying to pull him down, then they are certainly doomed.

Secondly, the individuals that may soon openly start the ‘united front’ initiative, unfortunately for them, are largely considered by the same masses from which they want support, as having dubious or soiled images politically.

Both Ncube and Mangoma somehow solicited and got the labels that range from ‘sell outs’ to even allegations of being hired to destroy the MDC and Tsvangirai brand on behalf of Zanu PF.

I find concerted efforts within the camps of Ncube and Mangoma to try and deny this, but my assessments show that the sentiment is quite widespread within the national political discourse and attitudes.

I believe that negative branding and image of Ncube and Mangoma in the court of public opinion effectively condemned them to huge setbacks when faced with battles against Tsvangirai in the past and recently.

My assessment shows that largely, Ncube and Mangoma are laughed off and derisively dismissed by the majority of the people they would want support from, all because of the pervasive sentiment and attitude about their identities and missions.

I find these men to have always overestimated their ability to overplay the strategy of tearing through Tsvangirai’s weaknesses and failures. They have failed to have a way of reflecting and testing their deep resentment for Tsvangirai against the views and attitudes of the grassroots supporters and voters.

Rather, they always get carried away and end up playing into the trap and matrix that soils their images, terribly.

To that end, just putting Ncube and Mangoma to spearhead the ‘united front’ is set to essentially mean the combining of two ‘poisoned chalices’ for the mission and objectives of providing an alternative to the MDC and Tsvangirai.

A sure recipe for disaster, l have no doubt.

The other platforms they could try to stand on, such as the theory of combining forces to fight the Zanu PF dictatorship become pre-empted and pale into insignificance, because of the deep-rooted negative view of Ncube and Mangoma’s images or real missions.

Despite attempts to deny it, the Tsvangirai brand and clout continues to haunt and cast a huge shadow on his rivals for the opposition territory.

Even if other players such as Lovemore Madhuku were to be roped into the mission, l anticipate the same scenario, of whatever weight they may bring being overshadowed by a poisoned atmosphere resulting from suspected brands of Ncube and Mangoma.

Lastly, it is crucial to observe that, invariably, all the possible partners to the alliance would bring close to nothing in terms of numbers and capacity. Ncube is, in fact, watching helplessly as members leave his party in droves, apparently and notably, to join the main formation led by Tsvangirai.

That is emblematic of a downward trend Ncube’s party has been going through since its formation and under the shadows of its bigger rival.

On the other hand, Mangoma’s movement is a huge disaster in terms of numbers and tangible backing and likely to bring to the table only a handful of individuals whose future in the MDC has become irredeemably untenable – not less because of very clumsy execution of their open rebellion.

The NCA has, in my view, always been doomed to fail right from the moment a decision was made to turn the constitutional body into a political party in the immediate and hot aftermath of last year’s rigged elections. The ill-advised strategy of sending out messages of spiting Tsvangirai, at the same time appearing to endorse the rigged polls, became an early suicide for the NCA.

Therefore, if they agree to walk together, the likely partners to the ‘united front’ would be confronted with a daunting task of starting from well below ground zero. That, combined with an elephant in their room in the form of negative public opinion, sets their mission for only a huge flop, l have no doubt.