Moving forward in Zimbabwe

Assuming no oil is located in Zimbabwe any time soon, there's a big question about how to move forward after the recent election where Mugabe and his thugs jammed through a ZANU-PF victory. The opposition MDC claim to have actually won 94 of the 120 parliament seats (the "certified" results say ZANU-PF won 78 seats) and are calling for new elections but regional African governments are pressing for a power-sharing government, also publically giving a thumbs up to the election results.

Southern Africa is a great place and without a doubt, South Africa could have a worse leader than Mbeki but it is about time that the US and EU re-think their own relationships with those African countries who went along with the troubled elections. Back room politics do not work with a thug like Mugabe and it is time for everyone to quit playing the game. As we know, invading a country is also a bad plan but with a united front from Europe and the US, it's time to develop a coordinate policy that can encourage a more serious program for democratic reform. With half of the Zim population on the verge of starvation and a government that uses food for both punishment and reward, the situation is becoming more and more urgent.