Why will its citizens re-elect an 80-year-old president?
Robert Mugabe is about to open the last parliamentary session before the Zimbabwe general elections, which are due in March next year. He is expected to propose the nationalisation of foreign-owned banks and mining companies, along with other unpopular measures. Once the main food supplier of the region, Zimbabwe is suffering severe food shortages and inflation is now approaching 5,000 per cent. Shops lack basic commodities and economic refugees are streaming into neighbouring states, mainly South Africa, at around 3,000 a day. Mugabe is over 80 years old, and has been ruling the country for almost 30 years. At the recent African union summit in Accra, Ghana, he was one of the leaders, led by Libya’s Gaddafi, who lobbied most for a United States of Africa. This would enable Africa to speak with one voice on the world scene. Yet Mugabe seems unable to run his own country. Why have Zimbabweans put up with him for so long? To answer that, you must take into account attitudes towards age i
