CABINET DELAY SIGNALS PRESIDENT'S PARTY WOES

C O N F I D E N T I A L LILONGWE 000473

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2014
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINR MI
SUBJECT: CABINET DELAY SIGNALS PRESIDENT'S PARTY WOES

REF: LILONGWE 457

Classified By: Pol/Econ Officer Peter W. Lord, reasons 1.5 (b/d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Ten days after the elections, President Bingu wa
Mutharika has not yet appointed a cabinet. With speculation
and rumors abounding, it is clear that Mutharika is having a
difficult time both in balancing internal UDF politics and in
building a working majority in Parliament. The cabinet's
final size and composition will be a clear indicator of
Mutharika's independence (or not) from former President and
current UDF chairman Bakili Muluzi, who remains very engaged
in party and government affairs. END SUMMARY.

BINGU: "NO MORE THAN TWENTY," MULUZI: A LIST OF 32
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2. (C) As reported reftel, President Bingu wa Mutharika told
donor chiefs of mission on May 27 that his cabinet would be
"no more than twenty," including the President and two Vice
Presidents. Reduced from 46, a small cabinet was a central
point in Mutharika's message to donors that the GOM was ready
to get serious about stabilizing the economy, kickstarting
growth, and reducing poverty.


3. (C) However, UDF insiders say that Muluzi gave Mutharika a
list of 32 people who should be in cabinet. The list was
reportedly handed to Mutharika at a party meeting in Blantyre
on May 30 that Muluzi "summoned" the new President to.

WILLING TO WORK WITH ANYONE
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4. (C) Faced with its dismal showing in parliamentary
elections and looking to build a working majority in
Parliament, the UDF has been courting independent MPs and
opposition leaders. It first was rebuffed by Malawi Congress
Party (MCP) President John Tembo, who controls 59 seats in
Parliament. UDF insiders report that UDF chairman Muluzi,
flanked by Mutharika, then offered Gwanda Chakuamba's
seven-party Mgwirizano Coalition, which commands 25 seats in
Parliament, several ministerial positions to form an alliance
with the UDF. Muluzi supposedly offered positions to
Coalition President Chakuamba (to be Second Vice President),
People's Transformation Party (PETRA) President Kamuzu
Chibambo, People's Progressive Movement (PPM) President Aleke
Banda, and Republican Party (RP) Vice President Bazuka
Mhango. (Chakuamba, apparently more interested than other
members of the Coalition, reportedly was offered a large sum
of money, a house in Lilongwe, and the Second Vice
Presidency.)


5. (SBU) After confirming that a meeting took place at
Muluzi's Blantyre residence on June 1, Aleke Banda said on a
news radio program that the Coalition met to discuss the
offer and decided to reject it.

COMMENT
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6. (C) That the UDF would consider entering into an alliance
with its political arch-enemies (who incidentally have filed
a petition in the courts to declare the presidential
elections null and void) is a sign of the party's desperation
and its cynicism. Faced with the prospect of being in the
minority in Parliament, the UDF will do whatever it takes to
form a coalition to keep it in control.


7. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED. If the UDF is successful (which is
by no means certain) in wooing the opposition and
independents into an alliance, Mutharika will have a hard
time keeping his pledge to slash the size of his cabinet
since ministerial seats will surely be the reward for
support. Already under pressure from Muluzi loyalists in his
own party, Mutharika also needs to keep the UDF faithful
happy. And the longer he waits to appoint a cabinet, the
greater the erosion of confidence in him. END COMMENT.
DOUGHERTY