Dear MCP, use the power of small

History is replete with lessons we often ignore. But only the wise use it to avoid mistakes and not look stupid.

In 1917, Russia was in a power vacuum. The Czar was abdicated and two rival camps, the Mensheviks (majority) and the Bolsheviks (minority), emerged.

The succession struggle ensued between the rivals.

The Mensheviks wanted everybody on board to seize control. But to take power, they needed compromise, tradeoffs and committees to handle them in their fold.

However, the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin, went for the power of small. They chose the tyranny of small numbers.

They knew that big is weak. What they yearned for was power and not popularity.

As the Mensheviks bickered who should lead them, Lenin mobilized something in the shadows—The Red Army. And in a few weeks, they had seized power.

To the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), big is weak. Forget about the opposition Mensheviks. Like Lenin, use the power of small to get the 50+1 threshold.

Meanwhile, you are the least popular party, but you must worry less about it. Because this is not a popularity contest, rather it is a power competition.

There are alliance talks in the opposition but like the Mensheviks, they are jostling to see who should lead the electoral pact, among other contentious issues.

Some of your 2020 ex-Tonse Alliance partners can change their mind if you dangle something in their face. Look, politics is all about serve-preservation.

Here’s another story from Russia.

One day, Joseph Stalin, the Bolshevik leader who came after Lenin, went to a cabinet meeting with a live chicken.

He sat on his bossy chair, said nothing and started to pluck the feathers of the chicken one by one. The chicken screamed in pain, but Stalin did not stop until the chicken was completely naked.

Then, he released the chicken and got some chicken feed from the pocket. He threw them at the naked chicken.

To the surprise of his cabinet, the chicken forgot the pain and started eating from his hand. When Stalin got up, the chicken followed him wherever he went.

To explain this, he said the chicken represents people. You can disempower them, brutalize them but when you give them peanuts in that desperate situation, they will follow you blindly.

This is how you create a tyranny of small numbers. Give some of these ex-Tonse Alliance partners some peanuts. You can be sure a small number will follow you.

This is also what is called the minimum winning coalition in Game Theory. Just have a minimum number to secure victory.

So like Lenin said, power is like a throne in a burning castle. It doesn’t go to the most deserving. It goes to one who is willing to take it while others debate the architecture of the castle.  

Meanwhile, the oppositions’ alliance talks seem to falter because they are struggling to reach middle ground.

It reminds of a story of Banja La Achithodwe in an anthology N’chiyani Mwana? by Aubrey Kalitera.

In it, the husband and wife argue over how to use proceeds from the produce which have not yet been cultivated.

That’s what the opposition is exactly also doing, fighting over power which isn't won yet.

Now MCP listen, you don’t need to be strong everywhere but be strong in areas that matter. Put together the small parties that have sprung up in the opposition’s DPP stronghold.

Also, make deals with Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu of Michael Usi and Kondwani Nankhumwa’s PDP, among other smaller parties.

This is how Lenin led the Bolsheviks to victory. He had a minimum winning coalition, a coalition just big enough to win.

Big is weak, power is small.