Against all odds

The prime minister, in his outspoken speech made at Mesquel square didn't hesitate to send an important message to the opposition. He said, the EPRDF as a party tried to correct what it perceived as its shortcomings from the day the 2005 election ended. He added he expects the opposition to do the same. I tried to think about what the opposition parties may have been doing wrong. Well, there can be a lapse in my judgement for the sole reason that I haven't been in Ethiopia for quite a while to witness the reason behind the overwhelming pro-ruling party vote that has, as Mr. Zenawi himself openly admitted, surprised him when he realized the size of the outcome. What I may guess he was referring to may be that the people have confirmed what the ruling party has been saying all along that the opposition is incapable to the extent that even the voters have changed their mind about the opposition parties, specially when they got the chance to closely monitor who is who in the political arena, thanks to the debates that were promoted in a well intended national media with little or no reservation. This may be opening up a bitter reality for the opposition for the next five years. I ask, what went wrong? Has the opposition weakened since the 2005 election or has there been a social transformation in the last five years, putting in the open how controversial every issue that is affecting the country can be. I have the feeling the latter is the case. The whole scenario confirms the process of democracy has come a long way in Ethiopia, although I can unambiguously say there may be some holes in the procedure. All in all, the election has bygone putting some of us in a limbo. It is something we have to ask ourselves hard enough to come up with some form of direction that won't put the political elites in a position of being outrageously confused.

That said, I can't help but stress the crucial points where the ruling party diverted the already touchy situation to its advantage. I can name several instances where the turning points accumulated to the extent that the people have been left with little to prove otherwise:

-Although it can be controversial, the 10 or so percent annual economic growth for the past several years can be categorized as an unparalleled achievement when Sub Saharan Africa is taken into consideration.

-The idea behind making the country energy independent has become controversial in terms of possible long term environmental damage that the Hydro electric Dams can cause. The speed and the secretiveness of the initial drive for the construction helped to effectively make the possibility of having uninterrupted bright nights and most importantly managing to generate surplus energy that can produce a new export income must be something the people couldn't afford to argue.

_The recent global initiative of the prime Minister in the global political arena propped up by the AU members and major international organs helped improve the country's foreign relation that has otherwise been considered numb for a long time.

Whether those important and decisive factors were actions taken intentionally to make the election a success for the incumbent party could be very easily proven by what it does in the next five years of its ruling. The things that matter to me are whether the opposition is going to use this experience to break itself up or to come back with a better cohesion and clear vision to take advantage of what the ruling party may or may not do during the next five years of its quarter century rule. I will be with all ears and eyes to be at the war front that has allredy began anew.

Tadesse H.