Source : association FOMF
A recent photograph from the inauguration of a 1.6-kilometer road near Fenoarivo presents a jarring tableau of Madagascar’s post-crisis political reality. The event, funded by the association Fikambanana olom-pirenena mijoro amin’ny fahamarinana (FOMF), featured Minister of Culture and Communication Gascar Fenosoa alongside Raissa Razaivola, the association’s president. This visual is politically charged: Razaivola was sentenced in 2023 to seven years of forced labor for attempted murder and two years for defamation. Her public presence, unexplained by any judicial revision, raises immediate questions about the rule of law. More critically, Minister Fenosoa’s decision to share a platform with her signals a troubling calculus. In the expensive pre-electoral period, alliances with wealthy figures like Razaivola or FOMF’s Honorary President Koufali Daya—regardless of their legal standing—appear to be valued over ethical governance. This incident is not an anomaly but a symptom of a deeper pattern where political expediency threatens to corrupt the foundational principles of the ‘Refoundation’ movement.
Fenosoa’s rhetoric during the ceremony further illuminates his populist approach. He warned of a crackdown on deputies maintaining ties to the former regime, a statement that chillingly echoes the authoritarian tendencies the 2025 crisis sought to overthrow. This push for a ‘dictatorship of single thought’ directly contradicts the democratic aspirations, particularly of Gen Z, that fueled the movement for change. Simultaneously, he criticized the distribution of gifts to the population as a tactic to obscure fahamarinana (righteousness), aiming a jab at former President Rajoelina. The profound irony, which Fenosoa either missed or ignored, is that this very practice was recently employed by the Refoundation authorities themselves in Androy. This contradiction reveals a populist modus operandi: employing morally absolutist language to attack opponents while engaging in the same behaviors when politically convenient, thereby eroding public trust in the government’s core message.
Whitewashing a Dubious Past
Minister Fenosoa’s defense of Raïssa Razaivola exemplifies a dangerous political alchemy that has become prevalent since October 2025. Individuals with contentious pasts can achieve instant rehabilitation by proclaiming themselves mpitolona (combatants) against the old regime or by becoming sakaizan’ny mpandresy (friends of the victors). The standard, often unscrutinized, justification is that any prior legal trouble was purely political persecution by the Rajoelina regime. This narrative, however, is a fragile shield. It mirrors the rhetoric of figures like Ravatomanga, who famously dared critics to “Show the evidence” shortly before evidence emerged that forced his flight. The lesson is clear: blanket claims of political victimhood can obstruct genuine accountability, a process that sometimes requires external forces, as seen with Mauritian authorities, to uncover the truth that domestic institutions will not.
Fenosoa’s populism extends beyond political alliances into a demonstrated lack of technical governance. His poorly informed interventions on complex issues like internet pricing—where he favored ideological sound bites over basic economic principles—reveal a minister prioritizing public appeal over substantive mastery. This raises critical questions: Are his statements driven by impetuosity, the intoxication of power, or the inherent limitations of a background more suited to political oratory (mpikabary) than ministerial administration? Historically, Malagasy governments since independence have featured such vociferous populists; Fenosoa appears to be positioning himself as the Naivo Raholdina of this era. Yet, this is precisely what the Refoundation cannot afford. The moment demands genuine refounders—leaders who can overhaul sclerotic processes and instill new ethical practices, not merely offer superficial changes of names and faces while replicating old patterns.
The emerging picture is one of a revolution potentially being consumed by the very vices it opposed. When the promised change manifests more in slogans than in substantive deeds, the project of Refoundation is imperiled. The patriots capable of being true refounders, who embody integrity and transformative vision, are beginning to mirror the fate of Madagascar’s unique biodiversity: they are becoming an endangered species. The nation watches to see if this trajectory can be corrected, or if populist spectacle will once again triumph over principled renewal.