AC Milan legend George Weah (centre).
More than a month ago, there was a news item on Chinese social networks: former World Footballer of the Year winner and AC Milan legend George Wea was elected president of Liberia.
However, the news was later confirmed as a rumor, because Weah had only just entered the second round of presidential elections.
In Liberia, Weah has a nickname "King George", and since his time as a player, he has strived to change the political ecology of Liberia. He ran in the presidential election in 2005 and as a vice presidential candidate in 2011, but both lost to female President Sirleaf, who later won the Nobel Peace Prize.
But for the 51-year-old Weah, he is still galloping at high speed in the presidential dream, from CCTV5 to CCTV1.
Via at AC Milan.
A week before Liberia's general elections began, countless people gathered at a football stadium in Monrovia. They wore blue T-shirts to form an ocean, a color that represented their hope, and they called him "King George."
Krkya, chairman of Liberia's National Elections Commission, announced that George Weah, a candidate launched by the Congress for Democratic Change, received 596037 votes of 38.4 per cent. In second place was the incumbent vice president, the ruling Unity Party candidate, Boakai, who received 28.8 percent of the vote.
Krkya announced that the second round of presidential voting will be held on November 7, when the top two candidates, Viah and Boakai, will compete.
Wia, in the middle of the football pitch, took a microphone and promised supporters in not fluent English: "After the election, our country will be completely different." The whole stadium was filled with cheers, and everyone shouted his name with all their might, "Weah, Weah!" ”
Via is the hope of this divided country. In fact, the seeds of the crisis were planted when Liberia was established.
Supporters of Via.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Liberia was a settlement of black slaves liberated from the Civil War in the United States, and was officially established at the end of the nineteenth century. Since then, however, there has been a clear dividing line between American immigrants and local natives, which continues to this day.
But in Weah's body, he has both characteristics: he has Liberian Aboriginal ancestry and spends most of his life in Western countries. Whether it is an indigenous or a descendant of immigrants, he can develop a sense of identity.
Liberia is looking for a savior like him. The West African country has experienced two devastating civil wars and established democratically elected politics.
Although the current president, Alan Johnson Sirleaf, is widely recognized in the international community and has won the Nobel Peace Prize, during her tenure, her suspicions about political corruption and the private use of public power have never stopped.
In this environment, Weah appeared. He ran with 20 opponents in the first round, and no one was as competitive as he was. While many of the candidates were wearing suits and shoes, Weah, who represented Liberia's largest opposition party, put on a blue T-shirt.
"George Weah" is a familiar name for him, but he prefers to use the middle name "Manneh", which represents his aboriginal origins. When the other candidates appeared on television and were interviewed by the media, Weah decided to walk among the supporters himself.
Weah with his supporters.
Weah wants to reunite Liberia as "one nation". But he inevitably cast other politicians as enemies.
Weah told the people at the scene: "For 12 years they have been telling our people that rice will be cheaper. But what is our vice president doing? He prefers to speak on television rather than take care of the needs of the people. ”
This is the typical campaign tactic: point out the biggest problem first, define an enemy, and make yourself a savior.
Regrettably, Liberia's problems are much more complex than Weah's. A large part of the country's current crisis is due to two civil wars.
After the speech at the Capital Stadium, Via began a nationwide campaign. As soon as he left the capital Monrovia, his convoy was stuck on the road. To buy time, the convoy left the road and went into the rainforest. The pavement is uneven and lush with plants hindering progress.
They would pass by small villages, and the walls of the villages were covered with propaganda slogans for several presidential candidates. Via's motorcade stopped, and he went into the village to talk to people and give gifts, which he had paid out of his own pocket.
Weah told the villagers: "Some journalists will tell stories about Tyler. It's complete nonsense, I have my own ideas, I'm not going to be a puppet of others. ”
Then his spokesman, an investment banker from Dallas, stepped forward and said, "Please don't ask about Taylor anymore." ”
Charles Taylor.
Charles Taylor, President of Liberia from 1997 to 2003, was the first African head of state to be sentenced by an international tribunal for war crimes.
Western media believe that Taylor supported the civil war in Liberia's neighboring Sierra Leone, where he trained his children as scouts and was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.
In 2003, UN peacekeepers entered Liberia, ending the civil war, and Taylor went into exile in Nigeria before being extradited to The Hague, the Netherlands, where he was sentenced to 50 years in prison by a special court in 2012.
However, Taylor's influence in Liberia has remained so far. If Weah is elected president, he will appoint Jewell Howard Taylor as vice president, who is Charles Taylor's ex-wife.
Many Liberians believe that to this day, Jewell Howard Taylor is at the helm of Charles Taylor. When Weah is elected president, Taylor will regain political influence in Liberia.
The British BBC television station had obtained a recording of the phone call in which Weah himself told Taylor about the campaign, but Weah denied contact with Taylor in an interview with the media.
Weah and Jewel Howard Taylor.
In any case, "Taylor" became a problem for Weah.
If he wants to maintain good relations with the West, he must keep his distance from Taylor. But if he wants to win the election, he needs to stand with Taylor, because Liberians want a political strongman to steer the country.
When Wea ended a propaganda session and returned to rest in his villa in Monrovia, he met an old woman who said, "Wea is the kind of strong man we lack." An athlete's words are credible. ”
For the old woman, the 2014 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa was a happy time for them. They got toys and clothes for their children from an NGO, and the family received a piece of meat and some rice a week, and the children almost went to school.
But that hope was quickly dashed, the virus was under control, NGOs were evacuated, and children were going to the streets to beg.
Weah's promise gave the family hope again. "He'll give my nephew a scholarship so they can go to school." King George's was a good man. ”
However, Liberia is facing a new political crisis. Liberia's Supreme Court recently ruled that the country's presidential election ballots should be suspended indefinitely, and that the National Electoral Commission must first investigate an electoral fraud lawsuit.
After the elections were suspended, many fled to neighbouring countries because of their uneasiness. And Weah must also decide whether, if he becomes president, whether he will lead the country back in time, or be a reformer and lead the country in an unknown new direction.