zimfinalpush
Mugabe will miss Blair
THE imminent departure of British Prime Minister Tony Blair from the political scene marks the end of an era not only in the United Kingdom but in far away Zimbabwe where, without lifting a finger, the Labour Party leader has become one of the most recognisable figures.
Since Zimbabwe began its senseless descent into anarchy and lawlessness in 2000 following the violent invasion and seizure of white-owned farms by war veterans, the head of state, 83-year old Robert Mugabe has been obsessed with ensuring that Blair was perceived as the villain responsible for the unnecessary tumult.
In the beginning Mugabe and his government went to extraordinary lengths to portray the impression that they had been forced to resort to implementing the land reform programme in a violent and haphazard manner because the British government had reneged on pledges made during talks at Lancaster House.
Mugabe might have got away with this twisting of facts if after making the conscious decision to go it alone and doing things its own way, his government had subsequently scored spectacular successes in agricultural production.
But the decimation of the agricultural sector and the chaos and confusion persisting up to this day have been so embarrassing that it was necessary for Mugabe to divert attention from the debacle by finding a scapegoat to blame. Mugabe targeted Blair and to a lesser extent, American President George Bush, with missionary zeal. Some of his most un-statesman-like utterances have been made in the process of ranting against Blair, Bush, imperialists and opposition politicians in Zimbabwe, who have been cast as being responsible for the anarchic madness that Mugabe now presides over.
At the height of the vitriolic propaganda blitz launched and presided over by Jonathan Moyo, Blair was the subject of numerous abusive and derisive television and radio jingles casting him as the source of all Zimbabwe's troubles. A song was composed with lyrics comparing Blair to a toilet, which was a rather crude and inept way of trying to make a play on "Blair toilets" that used to be popular in the Zimbabwean countryside.
At Zanu PF congresses and gatherings, posters emblazoned with disparaging messages and slogans about Blair became a permanent feature. The ranting rose by several octaves when placards derogating Blair, and the British people in general, began being waved even during burials at the National Heroes' Acre. These ceremonies are supposed to be sombre and dignified affairs but they are usually turned into furious, anti-Blair harangues by Mugabe, the regular eulogist.
Blair is never far from Mugabe's mind and lips, and over the last 10 years, he became the central theme of the Zimbabwean leader's political oratory. In an election some years ago, Mugabe rallied his supporters by urging them to turn out to vote so as to "defeat Blair". Without his knowledge, Tony Blair was apparently being made to participate in an electoral exercise in Zimbabwe and the poll was dubbed an Anti-Blair election.
At the Earth Summit in South Africa in 2000, Mugabe made his famous declaration: "Blair, keep your England and let me keep my Zimbabwe," which was a dead giveaway that his bitterness was an ego issue. The fact that Mugabe regards Zimbabwe as his personal fiefdom apparently informs how he expects to be perceived and treated and hence his indignation that his tyrannical governance has not inspired adulation but condemnation by the West and those of his own people who have been brave enough to tell the truth.
It has been interesting to note that during all the time that the anti-Blair war of words has raged in Zimbabwe, the British PM himself has refused to stoop so low as to respond to Mugabe's taunting. In adopting that dignified stance, he perhaps believed in the Biblical exhortation not to "answer a fool according to his folly lest ye be like him". And despite all his well documented political failures and personal flaws, Blair proved himself to be a better statesman and human being when he ignored Mugabe's abusive and crude denunciations.
The octogenarian Mugabe, who was born in 1924, is old enough to be 53-year old Blair's father but his obsessive crusade against the younger man resulted in a role reversal. The man the Zimbabwean leader often refers to as "little Blair" has shown more decency and maturity than Mugabe, who Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa once described as having "gone bonkers."
When New Labour was swept into power after a landslide victory in 1997, Blair became the youngest British Prime Minister in 150 years. By that time, Mugabe had been in power since 1980 and had a 17-year head start over his new counterpart. But when the dispute over the land issue erupted between Britain and Zimbabwe, and subsequently the imposition of targeted sanctions against the Zimbabwean leader and his lieutenants, Mugabe failed to use his "experience" constructively. Of late, Mugabe has been boasting about being more qualified to lead the country than his youthful political rivals in the ruling party by virtue of being more experienced.
While he can bulldoze everyone in Zanu PF to accept that false claim, most Zimbabweans know that his adoption of a scorched earth policy in situations where he should have shown more restraint and foresight has been to the detriment of national interests. Today, most ordinary Zimbabweans struggle to put food on the table while billions of dollars continue to be wasted on pointless propaganda wars such as the one waged against Blair. Mugabe was quoted recently as saying with a straight face and without a hint of irony, that he had never seen a "dictator" like Blair!
When Blair condemned the battering of opposition leaders and activists by the police in March, Mugabe dismissed his sentiments as "the kicks of a dying horse."
It takes truly mad guts for someone who is refusing to pass on the baton after 27 years to take such a dig at a younger leader who is quitting after only 10 years in power. But the question now is, will Blair's successor, Gordon Brown, become the new target of Mugabe's vitriol?
After all, the crisis in Zimbabwe continues to escalate and the President will still need a scapegoat to blame. Blair's departure presents a challenge to Mugabe and his amateurish propagandists and apologists.
Somehow, the slogan THE ONLY BLAIR I KNOW IS A BLAIR TOILET doesn't sit comfortably on Brown. It should be indeed, a sad day for Zanu PF strategists who probably already had truckloads of literature with Blair's name ready for next year's election.
Mary Revesai is a New Zimbabwe.com columnist and writes from Harare. Her column will appear here every Tuesday
No comments:
Post a Comment