Cross posted on Globalvoices

Morgan Tsvangirai, and not Robert Mugabe, has become the most poignent effigy symbolizing the tragedy that is Zimbabwe. Much like the young nation that stood replete with promise and seemingly unlimited potential in the early 90's, Tsvangirai emerged as the most potent threat to Mugabe's tyranny at the turn of the century. Just like the country, once known as "Africa's breadbasket" has become Africa's basket case, Tsvangirai has turned into a tragic case of a could've been, should've been.

The increasingly isolated leader of the main opposition held a publicized press confrence announcing that Mugabe's efforts to hang on to power would be rebuffed. Unsurprisingly, this event, which early 1998 galvanized the nation's workers to a work stoppage that ground the nation to standstill was hardly noticed by ordinary Zimbos. People are not happy with state of the nation, neither are they happy with Tsvangirai.

Bev Clark at Kubatanablogs epitomizes the deep frustration felt by many Zimbabweans at the arbotive opposition;

Tsvangirai believes that elections are the way to go, either in 2008 or whenever. Never mind that we’ve had the last several elections stolen from under our noses. Yes of course we agree that the conditions need to be rectified in order to hold accountable and transparent elections but we also know that this is the very last thing that Mugabe will allow because it would be shooting himself in his own small foot.

So therefore we have the two dominant political parties in Zimbabwe playing the same old games. Zanu PF is bound to win, and the MDC is bound to lose - unless the MDC stops ploughing the same old barren fields of thought and action.

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