Portrait of Morgan Tsvangirai as a Village Idiot

Every country has its own version of the village idiot. At their most basic level, these characters give the impression that they are clueless and harmless. However, once these idiots acquire a certain level of power, their dark side takes over and it quickly becomes apparent that they dangerous individuals who should never have been brought anywhere near the seat of power.

In Zimbabwe, one such character is Morgan Tsvangirai who, a few months ago, was appointed as Prime Minister by the Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe.

There are a number of reasons why I believe Tsvangirai is Zimbabwe's version of the village idiot. The first of these reasons is that, well, Tsvangirai is an idiot. You only have to listen to him when he talks to realise this. Like all idiots, he is inconsistent - his position changes from day to day - you do not know if he means any of the things he is saying because he will tell you one thing today and then tell you something completely different tomorrow and another totally unheard of thing, the next day.

When you point out the inconsistencies inherent in the positions he is taking, he will tell you outright lies, in response, or he will set one or more of his mouthpieces on you to try and intimidate and shut you up.

In my next post, I'll be looking at Tsvangirai's most recent visit to the UK. I will start by looking at what Zimbabwean bloggers are saying about him and his visit and then I will look at press coverage of the said visit.

Until then, enjoy this short clip: