| O |
NCE again our dimwitted opposition has been outthought, outmaneuvered and outshone by the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), a party with a big body and a small brain.
When on Tuesday the opposition leaders announced they were going to pass a no confidence vote on Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili and replace him with Mothetjoa Metsing people went into a frenzy.
The Maseru rumour mill went viral and speculation into overdrive.
Gossipers worked overtime and the people frustrated with the LCD government said “hallelujah!”
But Scrutator, ever sceptical of such political hokum, did not hold her breath.
Scrutator will not claim credit for being cynical because anyone with a morsel of greymatter between their ears would have seen right through the scheme.
It was the opposition being on their usual false alarm.
It was much ado about nothing.
The “no confidence vote” brouhaha was nothing but hot air.
Holy dung!
| Y |
ou did not need the skills of a political scientist to notice that this was just the opposition getting excited over nothing.
By yesterday afternoon their narrow-minded plan had collapsed like a house of cards and the opposition leaders had egg all over their wrinkled faces.
Metsing, whether out of cowardice or cautiousness, told parliament he was not part of the plot.
He told parliament’s business committee that the instigators of the motion had not consulted him before peddling his name as Mosisili’s successor.
So Thursday will pass with Mosisili still the prime minister, having the last laugh.
He can kick out his shoes, put his legs up at the State House and drink his goat milk (it’s his favourite) knowing that the opposition has managed to embarrass itself for the umpteenth time.
While he walks with a spring in his step the opposition hobbles, injured by the very weapon they threw at him.
Booooom, the boomerang has hit the old men of Lesotho’s opposition politics again.
It is not that the LCD was smart. They, of course, remain an owl of a political party like I said last week.
Sometimes I think we give the LCD too much credit for the 20 pregnancies it has remained in power when the truth is that the sickly party has thrived because it is surrounded by an inept opposition.
Even dunderheads have their own geniuses, don’t they?
The past 15 years have proven that.
| T |
he events of this week provided ample evidence that the opposition leaders of this country can neither read the written word nor the political mood.
Their strategy was not only riddled with holes but it reeked of shameful opportunism as well. Let’s start with holes in their plot.
It was based on the improbable assumption that the LCD MPs, legendary for their lack of spine, were ready to turn against Mosisili.
The fallacious assumption was that these MPs who have only the LCD to thank for their place in parliament were going to risk being expelled from the party by voting against it.
If you believe that the MPs were going to bite the hand that has fed them until they had rotund cheeks then you can believe a stranger who tells you that you are not your mother’s child.
A simple assessment of probability was going to save the opposition this embarrassment.
| T |
he other puncture in the opposition’s ploy was that it was centred on Metsing, a man with so little support that he is nothing but a loafer without the support of the LCD.
Metsing himself has understood the shelter that the LCD brand, whether damaged or overrated, provides.
That is why he has not formed a splinter party despite pressure from some misinformed people on him to do so.
Only a naïve opposition leader would have believed that Metsing would be willing to take over from Mosisili through a palace coup.
Yet even if Metsing had given them his word, as they are now claiming he did at nocturnal meetings, the opposition leaders should have demanded collateral from him in case he chickened out at the last minute and embarrassed them.
There is no signed paper or any agreement of sort they can show to the world that Metsing was the coward and they were not hallucinating when they came up with their plot.
The opposition leaders are now saying Metsing gave them the “impression” that he was part of the plot.
Phew!
What tosh is that?
How can seasoned politicians make such a bold move to remove a sitting prime minister based on a mere “impression of willingness”?
So they based their decision on an impression.
My foot!
The opposition leaders only have themselves to blame for coming up with such a gallant plan based on notions and assumptions.
| T |
he whole plot smacked of opportunism. They had five years to push for a no confidence vote against Mosisili but they are only springing into action now, a few weeks before an election.
The question is: At what point did they realise that Mosisili had failed to run this government?
Was it a discovery that the LCD is torn apart by internal feuds and corruption is rampant in government?
And how were these problems going to be solved by replacing an LCD senior boss with an LCD junior boss?
With whom was Metsing going to form a new government and how long was that government going to last in light of the imminent election?
Scrutator thinks the opposition leaders were trying to be vultures that eat prey they have not killed.
They thought Mosisili was already on the door and all they needed to do was to give him a shove to leave power.
If the opposition wants to have the muscle to push out a sitting PM next time they must get enough MPs voted into parliament, think through their strategy and read the mood properly.
They have learnt that no party can help push itself out of power by supporting a no confidence vote against itself.
The answer to their quest for power lies in winning enough votes in the next election.
Unfortunately, while the LCD might be as sleepy as an owl the opposition is as dead as a dodo.
Ache!
Scrutator29@gmail.com
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