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NewsDay

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Infighting in opposition parties worrisome

Columnists
A day hardly passes without news about quarrels in opposition political parties in the country. Such stories flood the media space in an unprecedented manner.

A day hardly passes without news about quarrels in opposition political parties in the country. Such stories flood the media space in an unprecedented manner.

NewsDay Editorial

It is a matter of fact that the MDC divided into half a dozen factions in just over a decade, characterised by long, wearisome and intense infighting and frequent shifting of positions by senior members.

There have been reports that former Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s People First and Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T were coalescing to form a united front ahead of the 2018 elections in an attempt to unseat Zanu PF’s President Robert Mugabe.

But cracks have emerged with some MDC-T senior officials voicing their concern about the coalition against Mugabe. We have no doubt that the endless cycle of infighting in the opposition will result in its disintegration and this strengthens Zanu PF’s stranglehold on power.

Opposition politicians should understand that it is not about individuals, but Zimbabweans. Indeed MDC-T brought vibrancy in the country’s political landscape by keeping Mugabe and his party on their toes. But the goings-on in the opposition camp are unconstructive, unhelpful and maybe symptomatic of the negativity that comes with not being in charge.

The continuing friction might be an indication that the elite consensus, the cohesion that has become the hallmark of the MDC-T, is weakening.

Sadly, most political parties in the country are shortlived, they do not have a long history and experience. And the voters do not get a chance to evaluate their achievements over time.

No doubt opposition parties are seldom grown out of big social movements, as they are the creation of ambitious individuals. The infighting is not entirely unpredictable because as opposition parties get closer to power, the stakes increase, and so it becomes more likely the level of internal wrangling will amplify. Even so, the display has been far from decorous.

Yet the fact that the MDC-T is the largest opposition in Parliament ought to serve as an example to the other opposition parties.

One of the chronic problems of the opposition parties is their failure to forward distinct policy alternatives to the voters. Due to infighting, the opposition appears weak in terms of developing a comprehensive political vision.

Clearly, political parties that are led by single leaders usually do not offer alternative policies to the voters, but emphasise the ability of the leader to run the government “better” than the ruling party.

Is it not true that if ruling party politicians are failing the people, it is the responsibility of the opposition to step in, in a credible, forceful, expressive, clear and intelligible manner, to provide alternative policy options on how to deal with the challenges that confront the country?

If opposition parties intend to be considered by Zimbabweans they should offer their alternative policies and explain to the people how they would do things differently.

All these challenges cannot be solved by stroking egos of some of these opposition parties and their unproductive leaders. Rather, it requires a candid self-examination and review of defective principles and structural values.