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Tsvangirai takes oath as PM with his sworn enemy
Ed Harris11 Feb 2009
Zimbabwe's opposition leader was sworn today in as prime minister in a "unity" government with president Robert Mugabe.
Mr Mugabe administered the oath to his old enemy Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change party, at a ceremony in Harare.
Regional leaders watched from a tent and Zimbabweans across the country watched on state TV as Mr Tsvangirai raised his right hand and declared: "I will well and truly serve Zimbabwe in the office of prime minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe, so help me God."
Mr Tsvangirai won the first round of last year's presidential election, but withdrew from the run-off, complaining of a sustained campaign of violence against his supporters. However he later agreed to share power with Mr Mugabe.
The appointment of Mr Tsvangirai is an extraordinary concession after nearly three decades of virtually unchallenged rule by the dictator.
But Mr Mugabe, who will be 85 on 21 February, has been in power since independence from Britain in 1980 and has treated Mr Tsvangirai as a junior partner at best, often not bothering to hide his contempt.
Problems facing the new government include a cholera epidemic, a collapsed economy, hyper-inflation and a 90 per cent unemployment rate.
Together, Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mugabe will be under immense pressure to act quickly to alleviate the suffering.
Aubrey Matshiqi of South Africa's Centre for Policy Studies said: "This is an imperfect settlement, and the balance of power favours Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party."
Earlier negotiations had faltered after the MDC accused the Zanu-PF of keeping the most powerful ministries, including the one that controls the police, to itself.
A minister from each party will now share the home affairs ministry. Other important ministries the MDC will control are health, education and finance.
