Sophisticated political manoeuvrings in Madagascar

Following a coup earlier this year (pretty standard story: 34 year old ex-DJ leads popular uprising and declares himself President), Madagascar's been having a rather tough time of it. Representatives from all sides have been in negotiations to sort out an agreement (the last deal provided for a President, 2 Co-Presidents, a Prime Minister and a variety of Deputy Prime Ministers - everybody wins!) but no real progress has been made. The most recent attempt was a get-together in Mozambique, where the major leaders gathered, and President DJ promised to join them by video-conference. However, you don't fill Antananarivo's dance floors every Saturday night without a trick or two up your sleeve. As the other leaders gathered in Maputo for the negotiations, the young President simply rang the Madagascar Aviation Authority and banned every flight between Mozambique and Madagascar, leaving them stranded and him still in charge of the country. Not a million miles away from "Hey! Look over there!".

He also, with a rather splendid lack of irony, condemned the deal his rivals struck in his absence as "tantamount to a coup".