On Feb. 11, in Harare, Morgan Tsvangirai drank the poisoned chalice, knowing that it was poisoned. He was sworn in as prime minister of Zimbabwe, in a government that is still controlled by his deadly enemy, President Robert Mugabe. He must know that his chances of success, even of political survival, are close to nil.
"We are not joining Mugabe," he said bravely. "This is part of a transitional relationship, negotiated. Mr. Mugabe has executive authority. I have executive authority." But Mugabe has exclusive control over the army and the police, which are regularly used to harass, imprison, torture and kill Tsvangirai's colleagues and supporters. He also controls the courts through the justice ministry.
Few Zimbabweans foresaw this outcome when the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) unexpectedly won a majority in Parliament and Tsvangirai won more votes than Mugabe in the election last March. It was an accident that only happened because ZANU, the overconfident ruling party, was less thorough than usual in intimidating the voters and rigging the count, but the apparent defeat of Mugabe's 30-year-old regime awakened hope in the hearts of despairing Zimbabweans.