In this country politicians have had their fair share of negative publicity. Politicians were seen as unprincipled people out to get ahead in a Machiavellian way. Often these portrayals are directed at ruling party politicians, at least in the African context. For while opposition politicians have been largely spared this negative depiction. Opposition politicians were seen as people who were out to defend a principle despite challenges thrown before them. This picture of the opposition as a soldier of some social justice agenda was cobbled together by such illustrious iconic politicians such as Maitshwarelo Dabutha, David Kavindama, Motsamai Mpho, Dr Kenneth Koma and others who struggled for their parties at a time when opposition politics was an even more challenging struggle than in this current landscape.
We heard stories of how Kavindama would ride a horse and board boats through the most treacherous landscapes to reach the crevices of his constituency long before he became a Member of Parliament. In a way that image of the opposition politician and activist etched itself in the consciousness of this countr's voter. During those times the ruling party politician suffered a crisis of image, in fact the continuous changes that the ruling party has put in place throughout the years to revamp itself points to the truth in this. Most ruling party politicians were seen as nothing but soldiers of fortune. They could never be trusted to be in it for the right reasons. In a way people generally took it for granted that opposition politicians were more interested in the larger picture rather than personal gain. However, Batswana are starting to revise their point of view. The petty tussles within opposition circles over the Leader of Opposition position has revealed opposition politicians as not just driven by personal goals but blinded by narrow politicking and partisan interests. The opposition takes the public for simpletons if it assumes that it would get unconditional sympathy when it has the uncanny ability and indeed willingness to shoot itself in the foot. Prominent figures within the opposition circles who would have been trusted with positions of immense responsibility were the opposition to take over, proved themselves to be willing to not just mislead themselves and the nation, but to do so for nothing but cheap political ends.
