PRESIDENT JAMES MICHEL COMMITS POLITICAL SUICIDE!

James Michel delivering the State of the Nation address.

In an unprecedented move unseen before in Seychelles politics President James Michel unexpectedly dissolved the National Assembly and announced parliamentary elections on Tuesday the 20th March in the State of the Nation address, stating that he has ordered the Electoral Commissioner to organize parliamentary elections soon. Political observers have suggested that this may be the last trump card of Michel as he is clearly caught between a rock and a hard place. Others have stated that the decision to dissolve the National Assembly is not one which Michel has taken voluntarily but is a decision which has been forced upon him by Rene who has secretly masterminded and plotted this ingenious political manouvre to get rid of Michel without him personally taking the blame for it. It may yet prove the last nail in Michel’s political coffin.

RENE PREFERS DANNY FAURE

It is not a secret that Ex-President Rene clearly favours Danny Faure as the man to succeed Michel and may get his wish sooner than expected. The argument being advanced is that if Michel fares badly in the parliamentary elections, as he is expected to do, it would present Rene with the perfect opportunity to get rid of Michel on the pretext that the electorate has no confidence in his presidency. In such an eventuality Michel would again be forced to dissolve the Assembly for a second time and call for fresh Presidential and parliamentary elections. Rene would then swiftly move to replace Michel with Danny Faure as the SPPF Presidential Candidate. This would mean that James Michel’s political career would end disastrously, barely one year into his presidency. 

THE ECONOMY IS EXPECTED TO GET WORSE NOT BETTER

Another argument being advanced to justify the unexpected announcement is that Michel cannot wait for October to call for parliamentary elections as all indications are that the economy is in free fall and spiralling out of control, fuelling speculation that it would hit rock bottom by the end of the year. Therefore, an election in October might have signalled a humiliating defeat to Michel at the polls; something which he is anxious to avoid at all costs. The people are clearly fed up with the lack of basic foodstuff in the shops, such as building materials and daily necessities. At the same time the president comes on television regularly to announce grandiose plans for the country soon, the latest being the under water fibre optic cable to provide faster internet access and a highway to link Bois de Rose to English River with an overhead bridge. These projects will cost the country millions in foreign exchange at a time when the country can ill afford to splash out and the question many are now asking is how will President James Michel pay for these extravagances when he cannot even pay for basic foodstuffs that the country desperately needs? Simple things, like solving the water shortage and replacing old leaking pipes with new ones to increase water efficiency seems beyond the President and we are expected to see water bowsers doing the rounds around the island soon during the dry season as we have always done in the past and will continue to do in the foreseeable future. Seychelles is now definitely known as a country where there is a constant lack of something or other in the shops, the latest being bottled water, condensed milk, sugar, onions, ham, burgers, cheese, cement, wood just to name a few. This has been going on for several years now with calls for the people to make sacrifices and promises that the situation will be resolved soon. “Soon” now stretches into months and months into years and our economic woes persist unabated with no solution in sight. James Michel’s government at the same time refuses to liberalise the economy and solve the forex problem; the major stumbling block to economic progress and prosperity.

PRESIDENT MICHEL HAS FAILED TO KEEP HIS PROMISES

Another criticism leveled at President Michel is the fact that he has acquired the bad habit of making promises that he knows he cannot keep. For instance, in a brilliant speech in the grounds of State House when he took the reign of the presidency from Rene, he clearly indicated that his tenure in office will be characterized by good governance, transparency, accountability and strict adherence to democratic principles. The impression given was that his presidency will be a departure from the failed policies of Rene and that he is his own man. He went on to state that he will set up an Anti Corruption Commission and will make it compulsory for high level Civil Servants to declare their assets. These policies were hitherto unheard of in Seychelles and Michel gave the impression that he was distancing himself from the mediocre economic policies of Rene which have accelerated our economic crisis. Until now this has not been done and Michel has quickly shied away from further pronouncements on these noble principles. He seems to have been stopped dead in his tracks by forces more powerful than himself.

VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE

This election is tantamount to a “Vote of No Confidence” in President Michel. The electorate is essentially being asked to vote on whether they have confidence in President Michel to continue to lead our country or not. The opposition needs a mere 5% of additional votes to the 46% already achieved in the presidential polls to cause a major political upset and send the SPPF packing. Although this is no mean feat it has been the “Achilles Heels” until now. Whether the opposition will break its duck and poll over 50% of the popular vote this time around is yet to be seen. However, it is clear that this is not impossible and with the worsening economic crisis and the fact that the recently opened “Super Save Supermarket” is set to close its doors permanently after the election, may give the electorate food for thoughts. This election may finally prove to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and blow up in the SPPF’s face. If it does backfire, President Michel will have no one but himself to blame since, as president, he was given the chance to take the country in a new direction with a new vision but he has miserably failed to avail himself of this golden opportunity. His statement before the National Assembly that there is opportunity in adversity, may yet come back to haunt him.

March 23, 2007
Copyright 2007: Seychelles Weekly, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles