Meles talks the talk and walks the walk

Dilwenberu Nega

12^th December 2009

By all accounts, 2009 has been Meles Zenawi’s annus mirabilis.  His administration’s pro-poor economic policies have yielded the desired results.  Zenawinomics has allowed his government to reverse galloping inflation into a deflationary decent, to maintain the momentum of scoring double-digit growth rate and to continue to plough in massive public spending on health, education, roads and electrification.  Mind you all these inroads materialised at a time when the nation continued to suffer from the ripple effects of the world’s economic downturn.  Politically, too, 2009 has been a bumper year for EPDRF in general and Meles in particular.  Not only have young and educated urbanites found EPDRF policies appealing and electable, but the year saw Meles performing the best of his hat-tricks by striking a Code of Conduct with opposition parties, thereby ensuring that future elections do not slide into violence.

All indices, therefore, point to Ethiopia on a developmental gallop, the likes of which have never been witnessed in living memory.

But perhaps it’s in foreign affairs that the lionisation of Meles Zenawi is increasing in leaps and bounds.  Seldom, if ever, has an Ethiopian leader been noticed playing such a pro active role in world’s politico-economic affairs as Meles has been performing during the course of 2009.  The G8 Summit in London in April, followed by the G20 in L’Aquila in July and Pittsburgh in September were all forums where Meles Zenawi was able to show case the best of modern Ethiopian diplomacy to the world.  COP15, on the other hand, is set to add a feather to Meles Zenawi’s cap as he becomes the first ever African Head of Government to represent All Africa at such a significant gathering of world leaders.  This is not good tidings; its excellent news worthy of jubilation.  That’s why the stage is set for an appreciative nation to accord Meles Zenawi’s African delegation to COP15 a hero’s send off tonight.

Citing what is only the tip of the iceberg of Meles’ achievements now the election campaign has officially kicked off on December 8th is as timely as it is indispensable.  All too often EPDRF has been caught wrong-footed in remaining in hock to its liberation struggle years’ line of thinking which relied solely on EPDRF’s track record and eschewing spinning at all cost.  This line of thinking has played a major role in EPDRF’s bad performances in towns and cities during May 2005 National Elections.  In today’s media democracy, such a belief is not only anachronistic but is something that places EPDRF on harm’s way during elections.  It’s high time that EPDRF realises that it is only good wine which does not need publicity; EPDRF needs publicity by the barn full.

While EPDRF is shill-shallying on crowing its laurels, its former critics have taken up the role of PR and telling the world the great strides that Ethiopia has made over the last 18 years.  Meles’s onetime harsh critic and the ephemeral darling of the toxic diaspora post 2005 National Elections, Bob Geldof, has bowed to the inevitable by publically acknowledging Meles’ achievements.  Again, the influential Economist – by no means Ethiopia-friendly – has admitted that Zenawinomics is well poised to catapult Ethiopia to fifth fastest growing economies of the world in 2010.

5 more years of developmental gallop with EPDRF!