General elections – President Ravalomanana in overdrive

Holding a half-naked baby in his arms, or working the crowd before delivering his official speeches, President Ravalomanana is showing a definite affinity for human contact, especially when he himself describes his appearances as a visit to his own people. In view of the upcoming general elections, his presidential visits, covered in detail by the capital city’s media, is viewed by his primary rivals, as a veiled election campaign for TIM, his own political party. The president, and his closest collaborators, of course, see the situation quite differently. The new leadership team, through the president’s visits, is witnessing the dawning of a new age of government, and discovering an opportunity to use the seemingly privileged presidential pulpit to their own advantage.

Often standing on a chair, holding a megaphone in one hand, pretending to ignore his discomfort, the Malagasy president has chosen to be close to the people, out in the field, in an effort to live the Malagasy’s daily lives, to walk in their shoes – which, often do not exist, since most of them are dirt poor. Meanwhile, he demonstrates that he is a team leader perfectly capable of making quick decisions. This mindset means that during the day he is hundreds of kilometers away from the capital where he will chair a work session meeting during the evening.

These local visits generally conclude with an assignment delegating a certain task to a minister. Early in the week, President Ravalomanana crisscrossed the South, before moving on to the West. Undoubtedly, the common denominator for these visits would be to emphasize highway reconstruction, and the fight against insecurity. At times crisscrossing six rural counties in one day, using helicopters, the Malagasy head of state is not showing any sign that he might stop any time soon, despite rising criticisms. One year earlier, during the his bid for the presidency, he promised to visit every corner of the Island. It appears that today he has decided to keep this promise county by county. The Island has 1,392 counties, the great majority of which are often isolated, and very poor.