Resorting to a surreal mix of charm, bluff and terror, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe was fighting this weekend to buy himself time to save his regime.
An attempt to overhaul his image, inject cash and petrol into the economy and decapitate the opposition is under the way. The Zimbabwean government openly admits that the strategy is unsustainable but Mugabe is hoping to buy time for a controlled exit from power. A five-day general strike last week brought cities to a standstill and prompted an unprecedented security crackdown.
Charm is not something the aloof 79-year-old is known for, but a propaganda drive is attempting to shore up support among loyalists in the country and sympathizers in South Africa.
At a rare public appearance last week in Mamini, north-west of Harare, he voiced defiance and again played the neo-colonial card which resonates with many Africans outside Zimbabwe.
Last night South African television viewers was treated to a softer, gentler Mugabe who, dressed in a smart suit, explained the hard choices faced by a democratically-elected government in a troubled land.
"It is sad when we are forced as [a] government to have to use tear gas against our own youth who are being misled. But we have to do it in the interest of peace. But we don't want to make our people suffer," Mugabe told SABC television.
"We suffered enough during colonial times and [now] we want our people to be free, express their free views and feel that the country belongs to them, that they have a stake," he said.
Neighboring South Africa's national broadcaster was a shrewd choice for this rare interview as Pretoria, the region's dominant economy, has more leverage over Harare than London or Washington. President Thabo Mbeki has not used that leverage, partially because many black South Africans admire Mugabe for redressing colonial injustice.
Harare's second prong is an emergency fix for an economy in freefall. The government needs cash to pay salaries -- not least for the police, soldiers and militia -- and fuel.
Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa last week unveiled an astonishing plan: tap revenue from Zimbabweans living abroad.
"Government is holding discussions with interested parties for purposes of mobilizing foreign currency from Zimbabweans in the diaspora," he said.
That most of the country's many emigrants left because of Mugabe's ruinous rule did not seem to dent his confidence. "Indications are that a minimum of US$1 million can be collected from them on a weekly basis."
Local media also reported that the state-owned National Oil Co has resumed talks with the Libyan group Tamoil for a new deal to import oil. A barter deal broke down last year when Zimbabwe could not supply enough beef, sugar and tobacco.
Mugabe is considering mortgaging national assets to get the oil, a desperate measure reminiscent of the government of the Central African Republic, which, shortly before being ousted in a coup last year, allegedly granted Libya a 99-year monopoly on mineral reserves.
Murerwa admitted: "We have virtually moved to the practice of crisis management in place of sustainable planning for development."
Mugabe wants the time and leverage for a smooth transfer of power which will protect him in retirement from the sort of travails visited on the likes of Pinochet, Honecker and Milosevic.
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