Mbeki 'a man of the past'
2008-07-21 13:55
Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki, once the continent's most powerful leader, faces a growing assault on his authority at home and abroad as he enters his final year as head of state.
The leader of Africa's biggest economy, Mbeki had in the past mediated in conflicts such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But since losing a party leadership contest and failing to stop Zimbabwe's crisis escalating, he has in the eyes of some observers lost a lot of his authority.
"When you actually have lost all credibility from the ruling party, when you are in your last nine months ... your credibility is almost shot, you are a lame duck president," said Pretoria-based analyst Adam Habib.
Mbeki recently faced unprecedented criticism at the United Nations as South Africa voted against a bid on the Security Council to implement fresh sanctions against Zimbabwe.
'Out of touch'
United States ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad expressed concern that South Africa - whose own transition from white minority rule to democracy was helped by sanctions - had insisted on protecting "the horrible regime in Zimbabwe".
Mbeki, he said, was "out of touch with trends inside his own country".
Meanwhile, as the new leadership of the African National Congress (ANC)
party flexed its muscles, two Mbeki-aligned provincial premiers faced the axe.
The ANC, led by Jacob Zuma since December 2007, has also engineered the appointment to cabinet of the party's deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe.
He will now take over some of the powers of deputy head of state and close Mbeki ally Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Mbeki had hoped to emulate leaders such as Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo, who managed to avert a loss of authority in the twilight of his presidency, by relinquishing control of his ruling party only after leaving office.
But Mbeki's decision to run against Zuma in December's ANC leadership election backfired spectacularly when he was roundly beaten in a result that emboldened his domestic rivals.
Legacy seriously dented
Political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi said Mbeki was seen both domestically and internationally as a man of the past.
"You are dealing with someone who is approaching the end of his presidency and his government is under attack ... the approval rating of Mbeki and his cabinet has never been as low as it is now," the Business Day columnist told AFP.
"Because of all the problems that have engulfed him over the past year he does look like a head of state that has run out of gas."
Habib said Mbeki's legacy had been seriously dented, both by his attempts to remain at the helm of the ANC for a third term and his widely criticised approach to the Zimbabwe crisis.
"He has become the easy person to pin everything on. If you want to make a progressive statement on Zimbabwe, criticise Mbeki. He has become the punching bag of political ploys all over the place," he told AFP.
Old and new ANC
While fielding blows abroad, Mbeki was on the losing side of power struggles within the former liberation movement at home, which faces its most difficult transition since gaining power after the fall of apartheid in 1994.
University of South Africa analyst Dirk Kotze said some ANC members wanted to "jump in as quickly as possible," ahead of an April general election.
He said the relationship between the Zuma-led ANC and the outgoing government was "awkward".
"There are many people in government who don't know what to do at the moment. There is almost a paralysis in government, a lack of energy."
ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said relations between the two centres of power were "seamless" and denied the ANC as political party was interfering in, or micromanaging the state.
"It is the responsibility of the ANC to ensure that the ANC performs. It is not interference it is taking our responsibilities seriously."