US embassy cable - 04LILONGWE473

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, Political 
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