A deal in Zimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has struck a deal with the country's opposition. The Irish Times comments: "The power-sharing agreement signed in Harare yesterday is undoubtedly a major step forward for Zimbabwe, but it does not conclusively resolve the country's deep political crisis. ... The distribution of power between President Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai, the new prime minister, and Arthur Mutanbara, is an institutional mess, leaving plenty of room for ongoing rivalry between their parties and ministers. If the conflict simply continues in a different format Zimbabwe will not get the international aid essential for recovery from economic collapse, despite the goodwill this agreement will generate. ... With inflation running at 30 million per cent, mass unemployment, empty shops, four million of its people in flight to neighbouring states and the collapse of agriculture, Zimbabwe is a failed state after 28 years of rule by Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. Most of the damage has been done over the last ten years. This agreement can be a turning point, but only if it enables genuine change."

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