Ok, so imagine for a moment that you are a member of the Zimbabwean opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Within days of hammering out a deal with your alleged coalition partner in government, Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF, that decided that elections would not be held until next year, you wake up one morning and discover that Mugabe has announced that national elections will happen this year. Further, you discover that according to ZANU-PF spokesmen, the party’s “politburo” (egads) is unanimous in its determination to hold elections in 2011.
This is what it means to be a coalition partner, or, sorry, “coalition partner,” with Robert Mugabe.
