2.5 Zimbabwe’s general direction – and country versus personal economic conditions Zimbabweans appear seriously divided as to whether the country is moving in the right or wrong direction – 35% thought it was ‘right’ and 31% said ‘wrong’ [Q1]. This indicated confusion and uncertainty as to whether the country is truly emerging from the status quo ante into a new dispensation, infused by ‘new politics’ … despite the suggested solid IG performances. It is equally a function of changing dynamics, where earlier expectations are becoming diluted, if not defeated. Notably, in terms of the two main party political protagonists, supporters of ZANU-PF were far more likely than those of the MDC-T to declare the direction ‘right’ rather than ‘wrong’ (Table 7). 51% of the ZANU-PF supporters (compared with 26% of MDC-T supporters) said the country was moving in a right direction. Inversely, 40% of MDC-T supporters said the direction was wrong (compared with 26% of ZANU-PF supporters). Table 7: Direction in which Zimbabwe is moving, judged by party supporters Direction Political party (%) ZANU-PF MDC-T Right direction 51 26 Wrong direction 26 40 Bit of both 15 21 Not moving at all 1 7 Don’t know / Refuse 7 6 Question: ‘How do you feel about the general direction in which Zimbabwe is moving’? Note: These trends only pertain to the 58% of the respondents in the survey who were prepared to say which political party they would vote for, should parliamentary elections be held ‘tomorrow’ [Q78] The survey explored the reasons for these answers in unprompted open-ended questions, high up in the survey (to pre-empt ‘conditioning’). The twin issues that inspired the largest chunk of judgement of ‘right direction’ were ‘the economy is now stable’ and ‘the improved availability of basic commodities’ [Q1B]. Other important contributing motivations were political and socio-economic stability that had been achieved. Economic reasons in the form of the ‘high cost of living’ and the ‘shortage of foreign currency’ were the predominant reasons for believing that Zimbabwe is heading in the wrong direction [Q1C]. A breakdown by party vote support indicates that 28% of MDC-T supporters and 25% of ZANU-PF supporters [in terms of Q78] constitute the bulk of those who believe that Zimbabwe is heading in the right direction. The body of voters that sees Zimbabwe as moving in the wrong direction is far more MDC-T-dominated – 48% of them come from the MDC-T (14% from ZANU-PF) supporters in the survey. Similarly, 41% of those who observe both a movement in the right and wrong directions, come from the MDC-T (13% from ZANU-PF). 25