With the political outings of recent weeks, the design of the next race for the supreme magistracy begins to take shape. Among the likely candidates, Andry Rajoelina flexes his muscles and says he’s not afraid of the competition.
A warrior, a fighter. This is how Andry Rajoelina, President of the Republic, presents himself. Character traits that he affirmed loud and clear in his speeches to Andoharanofotsy, more precisely to Mahabo. Words that he added to in a second speech declaimed afterwards, in Iavoloha. The outings and public trips of the Head of State in recent times suggest that he will indeed be at the starting line of the race for the supreme magistracy, in November. At Mahabo – Andoharanofotsy and Iavoloha yesterday he was more vocal than usual on the subject. Andry Rajoelina has bluntly announced the color as to the state of mind and the attitude he will adopt during the presidential election. According to his words, it will be that of “a fighter, a warrior”. A message that he wanted to send to the audience, but also to his future opponents, probably. “This man standing in front of you is a fighter. He’s a warrior. And if he shows up on the tatami it’s to win. No one will defeat him. These are not just words. We have already demonstrated this. I just have to look at my opponent to detect his point
weak. It is this state of mind of a fighter which is in me and which means that when I commit, I commit to the end and until victory”, declares the tenant of Iavoloha, during the inauguration of a new public primary school (EPP), in Mahabo Andoharanofotsy. On its way, the President of the Republic gave a layer in his speech on the occasion of the launch of the construction work of a new stadium on the side of Iavoloha, a few moments later.
Galvanized
“Do not worry. When we engage in competition it is to win and we will win. For the time being, we are working for the well-being of the population. But we are not afraid of the competition. We fear no adversary. (…) I have never lost a competition, whether in politics or anything else”, he chants.
The tone is therefore set. The words spoken by Andry Rajoelina yesterday stunned part of public opinion. For some observers, his two speeches exceed the limits of the presidential reserve. That his punchlines would be more conducive to an electoral ring. His self-confidence, relatively excessive according to some, especially surprises his detractors. The latter respond by highlighting the rivers of criticism against him and the state administration, particularly on social networks.
Moreover, in view of the profile of the aspirants to the supreme magistracy who will probably line up against the head of state, combined with the socio-economic situation, some are predicting a bitter electoral battle for him. The pugnacious attitude displayed by the President, yesterday, is obviously to respond to all this context which is unfavorable to him according to observers and his detractors. The popular wave that accompanied him from Mahabo to Iavoloha also galvanized him at first sight. This, just after a tour in Toliara to precisely gauge its popularity rating.
“Not many people believe in it, but we always win. What is more with you, this victory is assured, everything is assured. I appreciate your presence here today. Because seeing you motivates me to work, to work more, to keep working and to work again. We are working and will continue to work to develop Madagascar”, he says to the crowd who faced him during the launch of the work on the new stadium which will be located in Iavoloha.
Sticking to his ardor of yesterday, Andry Rajoelina considers that his trip to Toliara is conclusive and that he still enjoys significant capital sympathy in Antananarivo, at least in the Atsimondrano. The capital and its related districts are nevertheless reputed to be hostile to the head of state. The organization of the march from Mahabo to Iavoloha and the human tide that followed it, as well as the cheers of the residents on its way, were probably to prove this assumption wrong. The Atsimondrano is moreover, one of the districts with the largest number of voters.
In any case, yesterday’s double event had the effect of boosting the tenant of Iavoloha. “The love and solidarity that unites us is strong. You can’t cheat when you like someone [en référence à sa tournée à Toliara]. I assure you, our mutual attachment is intact. It is even stronger”, declaims the President of the Republic. In Iavoloha, he adds, “the two or three or ten or twenty detractors will not get the better of our determination, since it is the hundreds, the thousands, the tens of thousands, the Malagasy population that keeps us standing”.