Tension in Abidjan: The former CEO of Credit Suisse is shaking up politics in Ivory Coast. He is considered the favorite for the leadership of the largest opposition force in the country. There will be an election this Saturday.
More than 6,000 members of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) will gather in Abidjan on Saturday for an extraordinary congress. The country’s strongest opposition force will elect its new leader. Considered a favorite Tidjane Thiamformer CEO of Credit Suisse (CS).
The Ivorian-French top manager has a good chance of taking over the leadership of the party. During the election campaign he cleverly pulled out all the stops. The former top banker not only appears regularly in the Ivorian media, but has also been active on his YouTube channel for weeks «Tidjane Thiam TV» as well as on Instagram loudly the advertising drum.
He also receives support from African sports legends. Recently, among others, the former star striker of FC Barcelona, Samuel Eto’o, on social media for Thiam. As in Cameroon, football is the most popular sport in Ivory Coast.
A beacon of hope for many Ivorians
“I will make the PDCI more modern, attractive and efficient without losing sight of the goal of returning to power,” Thiam recently promised to thousands of supporters.
Since his return home, something like a Thiam effect has been observed in the West African state. Many Ivorians consider him to be the only one Alassane Ouattarathe president of Ivory Coast.
Hesitated for a long time
The 61-year-old Thiam had long hesitated to enter the political stage. But after the death of the former head of state and PDCI chairman Henri Konan Bédié On August 1st of this year, the former CS boss turned more heavily to politics.
Thiam was a long-time employee of Bédié. From 1994 to 1998 he worked alongside the “Sphinx of Daoukro”. During his condolence visit to Ivory Coast, Thiam also gave his first interview in an Ivorian media since 1999, when he was assassinated by the coup Robert Gueï his ministerial office cost how much finews.ch reported.
Springboard into the presidential palace
As grand-nephew of Houphouët-Boignythe father of independence and founder of the party, the former top banker saw his chance to go on the offensive and take the leadership.
The party chairmanship is the springboard for him to later run for president. The presidential elections will take place in 2025. If Thiam is elected, he would have to revitalize the PDCI if he wants to inherit Ouatarra. The PDCI has been severely weakened by years of internal power struggles.
Fear of spying
Things never really clicked between Ouattara and Thiam, two strong personalities. Now the egos are bare. According to the Ivorian media, it was leaked from Thiam’s environment that there were fears that those in power were spying on Thiam. This is not without a certain irony, as the “Spygate” espionage affair cost Thiam the CEO position at CS in 2020.
Thiam, like Ouattara, the French President Emmanuel Macron has the advantage of being younger than the Ivorian president, who will be 83 when he runs for a fourth term that would be as unconstitutional as the third.
Escaped at the first shot?
The former top manager sees himself above all as a beacon of hope for Ivorian youth. But even if he were to become party chairman of the PDCI, the road to the top position is still a long one. Since the late 1990s, the party has not won an election that was not in alliance with the government.
In addition, Thiam is not without controversy. Some Ivorian politicians accuse him of fleeing the country when the first Kalashnikov shot was fired during the 1999 coup. He is also accused of his French-Ivorian dual citizenship and closeness to Macron.