Public perception by itself should not warrant Meles' exit

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Alemu has voiced his concern that those of us who joined the thought-provoking - and not provocative - debate on "Meles Must Go - Maybe He Should"(www.aigaforum.com) have missed out on why he thinks the way he thinks. In a capsule form, Alemu believes that it's high time for the EPDRF to be thinking of replacing Meles because of public perception and because the New Derg in the Diaspora is exploiting this apparent 'weakness' to the hilt in its anti- EPDRF lobby in the rich democracies.

But before I delve into addressing Alemu's concern, I would like to thank Alemu for those heart-warming words he had showered me with in his article. I am, however, saddened to note that he had taken my criticism of his action of broaching the very idea of Meles' exit at a time when our democracy and unity have come under severe threat, as a personal attack. He can rest assured that I, like him, belive smear and sneer words are used to block open-minded thought and should be the target of condemnation by all who cherish freedom of thought and speech. I shall, therefore, take extra care in trying to disagree without being disagreable.

There is no denying the fact that public perception plays a dominant role in politics. The important thing to focus on when dealing with perception vis a vis Meles Zenawi is to agree on the identification of its root causes and then see what EPDRF could have done or must do to address them before they get out of concern.

The root causes of public perception on Meles

Alemu's determination to march on, must not prevent us from refreshing our memory on events that brought the EPDRF to power for it is only by so doing that one is able to grasp the essence of the public perception that has become such a headache to Alemu. For nearly 17 years of its liberation struggle against the Derg, the EPDRF was being depicted by the Derg mass media - intent on diverting attention from mounting public discontent - as a force that is bent on the distruction of Ethiopia. Backed by an intensive public relations campaign, the Derg, therefore, succeeded in addling the brains and wits of urbanite Ethiopians in particular with the madcap idea of the EPDRF in cahoots with EPLF planning to dismantle Ethiopia in order to quench the thirst of Ethiopia's non-christian enemies. For all intents and purposes, therefore, the inhabitants of the "hot spot of Ethiopian politics" had passed the 'death penalty' on an EPDRF well before Meles got to the scene.

What EPDRF should have done about public perception on Meles

As anyone with a rudimentary knowlegde of EPDRF would confirm, we are dealing here with a party that eshew's publicity for fear that it will eventualy lead to personality cult. But as any PR Consultant would confirm, a gulf yawns between being receptive to public perception and publicising the leader of a political party in order to improve the leaderr's public opinion ratings. Two examples would, I hope, shed light to what I am trying to convey. When Tony Blair became the Leader of the Labour Party following the sudden death of its Leader, John Smith, not only was Labour out of office for more than a decade but in the eyes of the public it was unelectable. Tony Blair acted quickly by seeking the advise of PR Consultants who, in turn, advised him how to reform his party by curtailing the influence of the trade unions and how Tony, himself, should embarrk on a charming offensive. Eureka! Labour was back in power with a majority it hadn't witnessed since the Second World War. My second example is of how the British Conservative Party of the early 1980s addressed the public perception of Margaret Thatcher - the first British woman Prime Minister - not to be fit for office. According to the Memoir of the then Conservative Chairman Norman Tebitt, the Conservative Party's instruction to the renowned PR firm, Sacchi and Sacchi was "sell our Magie to the British people". Eureka! Thatcher gave the conservatives three consecutive wins.

I appreciate the anticipated argument that our democracy/politics is different and therefore should not give that much attention to PR work. The trouble is that there exists no other tried and tested method of tackling public perception other than the 'magic wand' of PR consultants. EPDRF should have made use of PR more robustly than it had done in the past before the problem became a seeming liability to its leader.

What EPDRF must do to tackle public perception on Meles.

Much of the work has already been done by Meles, himself, in proving to friends and foes alike, that he is a true son of an Ethiopia that he and his party had keept intact by founding a union of free and equal nationalities. This has dealt a death blow to those who had been rabbiting on the disintigration of Ethiopia following the demise of the Derg.

Most astute politicians and non-partisan observers of Ethiopian politics, have at long last come to realise that the seccession of Eritrea in 1991 was, indeed, a fait accompli. If I were Alemu, I wouldn't give any credence to the view that this time round the knives are out to get Meles on what he is alleged to have done vis-a-vis Eritrea. Ethiopia has moved a very long way in establishing itself as an independent and powerful nation without the incorporation of Eritrea. True, people have seen in Meles a willingness to co-exist peacefully with Eritrea on fair and equal basis, but to those who mistook this willingness of his as weakness, he has proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that - contrary to his critics hue and cry - he is not the sort who would sneeze when Isaias takes a snuff. Besides, Alemu must be aware of the fact that the very people who were accusing Meles of caving in to Eritrea are the very ones who are today paying hommage to Isaias Afewerki.

Again, my fraternal advice to Alemu is not to get paranoid when he listens to the anti-Meles' mantra of "Ethiopia being ruled by Tigrean minority." These forces can testify as much as they like to the US Congress or if they can to the UN Assembly, but it would not change the truth of the matter by one bit. Anyone who does not, yet, recognise that the EPDRF is by far ethnically-mongrelised than the CUD is one who lives in cloud-cuckoo-land.

Having stated the above, I am of the opinion that the people of Ethiopia are deliberately made to dwell too much on the seamy and not attractive side, on the inflated failures and not the glaring successes of EPDRF in general and Meles in particular. His critics had for far too long reveled as they gased on their misinformation and engaged in the vivisection of his personality while workaholic Meles had been busy burning the mid-night oil to alleviate the burden of everyday existence of the majority of Ethiopians who are by and large still - to use a biblical _expression - "hewers of wood and drawers of water."

It is against this back-drop of discrepancy coupled with the need to be receptive to public demand that EPDRF ought to review its position on PR work - euphemistically called 'charm offensive' or 'spin'. Take for instance one occasion when Ethiopians rightfully expect the Prime Minister to lead the tribute, on behalf of the nation, at our Victory Day Celebration. The conspicuous absence at wreath-laying ceremonies of Meles Zenawi plays into the hands of his critics who have a field day accussing him of unpatriotic behaviour. Such small acts of being there to lead a tribute would have gone a long way to pacify the hearts and minds of non-partisan Ethiopians who claim that Meles' style of government had robbed them from their sense of national pride.

I do agree squarely with Alemu that the New Derg in the Diaspora must be allowed to die a natural death as Ethiopians everywhere do not wish to go back to the nightmarish rule of trigger-happy kakitocrats. By and large, these are flibbertigibbet critics of Meles that the EPDRF can easily afford to ignore.

In conclusion, I am not expecting Alemu to swallow my line of argument hook, line and sinker, but at the very least, I expect agreement on two fronts. First, ousting Meles because EPDRF has failed to tackle the public perception aspect of its leader is the thin edge of the wedge leading to more of the same for Meles' prospective successor. Second, an appreciation of what is the glaring thruth as Meles continues to embarss his critics with his unambiguously pro democracy and pro Ethiopia stand.

Offering Meles Zenawi as the sacrificial lamb in order to pacify an Opposition that is out to derail the democratic process, however strong a voice it may muster in Londfon and Washington, bodes ill to an EPDRF that has enjoyed three consecutive election victories under Meles.

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