MADAGASCAR

There would be few who could conclude that the African Union (AU) or its predecessor covered themselves in glory during the Madagascan crisis. Indeed, the organisations consistently went out of their way to accommodate the views of the incumbent, refusing to take a strong stand on agreements reached when these were no longer expedient to Ratsiraka. By concentrating on minutiae it diverted its gaze from the bigger picture, in which electoral fraud loomed large. If final proof was wanted of this it came in the parliamentary results a year after the flawed first round of presidential elections. Ultimately the AU found itself floundering in the wake of developments, and was irrelevant to the solution of Madagascar's political crisis. Other international actors eventually played a far more constructive role as they sought to engage and encourage the new government.