With all of the recent comment going back and forth regarding Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe and the sham election in which he was sworn in for yet another term in office, few have made mention regarding the sudden change in South Africa’s position in the crisis. I’m not saying that South Africa has suddenly taken action, quite the contrary, that part of the situation seems to have remained the same… quiet diplomacy and all that jazz. What I’m referring to is the perception of the role of South Africa becoming suddenly clearer through the remarks of none other than Robert Mugabe himself.

Mugabe made mention of Mbeki’s “efforts in Zimbabwe” and considered him a friend. This is in stark contrast to MDC President, Morgan Tsvangirai, saying that Thabo Mbeki isn’t really doing much to help the situation in Zimbabwe. In fact, many South Africans have been saying this as well. Up until now, all those mentioning it had this vague idea that maybe, just maybe, something is happening behind the scenes in which Mbeki is making moves using his “quiet diplomacy” strategy. This vague idea is now squashed with the lines being clearly drawn and Mbeki standing on the side of the fence with Mugabe right next to him.

This can definitely not be helping Mbeki’s credibility any more, especially with his recent “hush, hush” treatment of reporters’ questions regarding the crisis in Zimbabwe. However, we cannot merely speculate from this point of view alone. If Mbeki is standing quietly on the side of Robert Mugabe, he is in a very influential position in terms of creating real change in Zimbabwe through dialogue. My feeling, and the perception of almost all South Africans, is that of serious doubt as to whether Mbeki will do anything at all. This is based on his recent actions of allowing the Chinese shipment of guns heading to Zimbabwe to dock in South Africa as well as saying “There is no crisis in Zimbabwe” early on in the conflict.

Regarding Morgan Tsvangirai’s recent statement that he is willing to “hold talks” with Mugabe is very confusing. First, the MDC asks that the whole world that they denounce Mugabe and brand the election as illegitimate, and in the next step they recognise Mugabe’s legitimacy? Surely we’re missing the plot somewhere. I think the MDC should have stuck to their guns and shout with a single voice and a single message. The conflicting messages being sent out will not help the situation; all this will do is cement Mugabe’s position as the de facto leader of Zimbabwe.

The AU is already split in terms of recognising Mugabe as the leader of Zimbabwe or stating his illegitimacy. Having opposing messages being sent out by the opposition damages their brand as a political entity and also greatly limits the potency of their political power. A clear communication strategy seems to be greatly lacking fro the opposition, this being showed by Tsvangirai pulling out of the election as well his recent willingness to “hold talks”.

The one thing missing from the crisis in Zimbabwe is clarity amongst the leaders opposing the regime. Both Mbeki and Tsvangirai need to get their acts together and make some real change instead of shuffling about between ‘quiet diplomacy’ and inconsistent political communication.