Ask the Diplomat: Former Malawian President Bakili Muluzi

Hello Diplomat,

I would like to ask if you could do a piece on the very undiplomatic Malawian ex-president Bakili Muluzi who has tried everything in the trick books to stay in power. His latest being running for president in 2009 after failing to get a third term in 2004.

Thanks,

Multi-Cultural Guru, Lilongwe, Malawi

Thanks for your question, Multi-Cultural Guru. I assume the “tricks” you’re referring to are related to his maize scandal which briefly landed him in jail in 2006. According to the BBC, Muluzi was arrested and questioned on corruption and fraud charges stemming from financial transactions during his presidency. Apparently, Muluzi sold his country’s maize reserves to other African countries shortly before Malawi entered a drought and pocketed some of the proceeds while his people starved. And even though his 10-year presidency ended 3 decades of dictatorship, (Banda), the country is in even worse shape with foreign economic aid reaching almost $600 million in 2007.

So it’s sad that the BBC is also now reporting that Muluzi has just won his party’s nomination by a landslide and will be the United Democratic Front’s presidential nominee. However, it’s still up in the air whether or not his third run for president is actually legal. With this many red flags so far, The Diplomat gives Bakili a failing grade.

Mwawi!

Ask the Diplomat: What’s With Starbucks?

Welcome to our first session of what will be an ongoing series here at BETTER DIPLOMACY called “Ask the Diplomat“. In this series, I’ll sort through our mail bag and answer readers’ questions regarding the diplomatic or undiplomatic nature of current events in the world. These questions could be about deep political issues or small beat-on-the-streets curios. For example, just this morning we received two emails expressing such a range, one asked our take on Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden while the other was wondering if it’s ok to cheat on your wife if you knew she wouldn’t care that much. And all I can really say about that is: Adultery’s seriously undiplomatic, mateys! Which leads us to today’s question and one I picked because it both references one of The Diplomat’s loves (coffee) and because it’s something I’ve been a bit confused about myself:

Dear Diplomat:

Every morning I grab my coffee at the Starbucks around the corner from my office. But today I noticed that the Starbucks’ logo on my cup is brown and the fish/woman looks different. Is this just a promotional thing at this particular store or is Starbucks changing its image all around?

Thanks,

Eat My Press, NY, NY

Thanks for writing, Eat My Press, and good question. You are correct to allege that Starbucks may be doing an image overhaul. However, it’s not permanent. The story is that due to Starbucks’ declining sales, CEO Howard Schulz thought reviving the old (1971-1987), original logo, placing it on all cups, and fiiling those cups with the brand new Pike Place Blend, would also revive and reinvigorate the brand and therefore boost sales. While he gets an A for the nostalgia effort, he perhaps should have printed that logo on the cup sleeves as well. Because glancing around the office, Schulz’s efforts are going unseen. But fear not, there is diplomacy to be found in this question yet. The upside of Starbucks’ downturn is the opportunity for non-multinational coffee houses to flourish.

(To participate in this series, please send your questions to betterdiplomacy@gmail.com)