Zimbabwe after Mbeki

Thabo Mbeki resigned as South Africa’s president this week, and many wonder if the week-old Zimbabwean power-sharing deal between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai is in jeopardy.

From Mail & Guardian:

"Considering that Mbeki was the sole mediator in the Zimbabwe agreement,
Zimbabweans are now asking what the future of the country holds," the coalition
said in a statement."Zimbabweans from all walks of life were banking on the
settlement to rescue the country from the socioeconomic and political abyss it
is entrenched in."MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa insisted that Mbeki's
departure, effective on Thursday, would not spell disaster for the Zimbabwe
deal."There is no danger posed to the agreement by President Mbeki's departure,"
said Chamisa…

…John Makumbe, a political scientist at the
University of Zimbabwe, said power-sharing might collapse without Mbeki."He was
able to apply pressure here and there and get them to sign the agreement.
Without him I think each group is going to stick to its guns and that would be
unhealthy ... the whole agreement could remain strictly on paper, he said.

As much as I don’t like Mbeki (as he has been too much of a cheerleader for Mugabe), this could be a step backwards for all Zimbabweans.