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MDC and ZANU PF infighting
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2007-30
Monday July 31st 2007 - Sunday August 5th 2007
August 09, 2007

The government media poorly handled infighting within ZANU PF and the MDC. For example, while ZBC carried two reports hinting at discontent within the ruling party, it remained silent on the MDC's bickering. The two stories on ZANU PF's squabbles were only in the form of ruling party officials calling on their supporters not to "give in to rumours and infighting" within the party during a rally in Epworth (ZTV and Spot FM 5/8, 8pm). No attempt was made to give a coherent background to the calls or link them to succession battles within the ruling party.

Likewise, the only time the official papers alluded to factionalism in ZANU PF was when The Herald (31/8) reported Policy Implementation Minister Webster Shamu dismissing allegations that the ruling party did not sanction President Mugabe's candidature for next year's presidential poll, saying these were "lies peddled by forces which wanted to create disharmony within the ruling party". The paper did not ask Shamu to explain the circumstances surrounding the alleged endorsement of Mugabe's candidature.

Instead, the official papers carried several stories reporting various ZANU PF organs rushing to endorse Mugabe's candidacy for the poll. These included "ZANU PF mayors and council chairpersons" (The Herald 31/7) and "Chipinge South Youth League" (The Manica Post 3/8).

Notably, no questions were asked about why party organs were making these endorsements if Mugabe had already been unanimously nominated as some ruling party officials claimed. The government Press only seemed more interested in the differences plaguing the fractious MDC. But even then, these were typically sensationalized.

For example, while The Herald and Chronicle (30/7) claimed that MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai had "blasted" his rival Arthur Mutambara, hitting the "final nail in the coffin of their much publicized unity talks", none of their reports actually quoted Tsvangirai attacking his counterpart. Responding to Mutambara's criticism of his leadership, the papers quoted Tsvangirai as advocating "unity of all progressive forces in the country", adding: "The enemy is not Tsvangirai. The enemy is Mugabe. If you focus on Tsvangirai, (you are wasting your time . . . )"

Their lopsided coverage of the topic was reflected in their narrow sourcing pattern, which gave no room to alternative views. See Fig 5.

Fig.5 Voice distribution in the government Press

Although the private electronic media was silent on ZANU PF bickering during the week, they carried eight stories that highlighted the collapse of MDC coalition talks, a development they noted would weaken the opposition's chances of toppling Mugabe in next year's elections. SW Radio Africa (30/7), for example, interpreted Mutambara's attack of Tsvangirai as a "weak and indecisive leader" and his announcement that his faction would go it alone in next year's elections as a blow to hopes of uniting "democratic forces" to give them "more strength to fight dictatorship." The Zimbabwe Independent (3/8) comment echoed similar views, interpreting the divisions in the opposition as a "self-destruct button" that would "sway the vote in favour of the ruling party" in next year's poll. The Financial Gazette (2/8) also expressed similar sentiments.

However, the Independent and the private electronic media failed to balance Mutambara's reasons for the collapse of the talks with Tsvangirai's.

It was in this light that the private electronic media accorded more space to Mutambara faction compared to Tsvangirai's as shown in Fig 6.

Fig. 6 Voice Distribution in the private electronic media

Apart from highlighting MDC infighting, The Financial Gazette (2/8) and Zimbabwe Independent (3/8) revealed the cracks within ZANU PF over policy differences in the implementation of its price control policy. While the Gazette reported ruling party provincial chairpersons' displeasure with the alleged selective execution of the exercise, saying it exempted the party's "big shots", the Independent revealed that Minister Without Portfolio Elliot Manyika and former Finance Minister Simba Makoni had clashed after Manyika had accused Makoni of "working with companies allegedly pursuing a regime change agenda".

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