Briefing Paper

The Absence of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi And its Implications: What Makes the Party, the Government and the State to Continue in the Absence of the Premier?

“The aim of this brief piece is not to add on the speculations in the public. Rather, the intention is to explain what I think is novel in the political history of Ethiopia. For many people the Prime Minister was the only person who guarantees the proper functioning of the state, the government and the party. In the past two decades many people believed that if the head of the party was not stable or unable to govern the country, there would be a crisis that affects the government and the party.”