Currently in Belgium, the former president could accept a meeting with Henri Konan Bédié and with Alassane Ouattara. The Ivorian head of state now wishes to discuss with his two predecessors.
It was in July 2021. Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo appeared hand in hand, more than ten years after the start of a crisis that led to terrible violence in Côte d'Ivoire. The spokesperson for the former president's party assured that "Laurent Gbagbo is in a spirit of openness, dialogue and reconciliation", while the presidency affirmed that "there has never been an interruption of dialogue in our country and it will continue because that is the will of the government". Alassane Ouattara was then very clear: “The crisis is behind us”.
Ten months later, the reconciliation does not seem to have gone beyond the simple operation of communication. It must be said that several files have been blocked, in particular that of the indemnities of a former head of state which must be granted, in particular, are still frozen by the presidency.
Et by launching his new party last October, Laurent Gbagbo sent a clear message to Alassane Ouattara: we will still have to rely on the former President of the Republic in the years to come. Despite everything, "ADO" should meet Laurent Gbagbo as well as his other opponent, Henri Konan Bédié.
According to Jeune Afrique, the meeting between the three personalities could take place by the end of June. Scheduled for a long time, this meeting was postponed by Alassane Ouattara. It must be said that it is still difficult to know who would benefit politically from a photo of "ADO", Gbagbo and "HKB" together.
Towards a facade unit?
The idea is also that of the “Sphinx of Daoukro”, which proposed to Alassane Ouattara to display in broad daylight a reconciliation between the three men. But the Ivorian president has always preferred to speak with the two men individually. Especially since, behind the scenes, if Ouattara got on rather well with Bédié, relations with Gbagbo are more tense.
If the situation remains calm in Côte d'Ivoire, it remains fragile. One year from the municipal elections and three years from the next presidential election, Alassane Ouattara has above all focused on reorganizing his party and government. But now is the time to show a certain unity and its will to put forward a reconciliation that has been announced many times.
Still, Laurent Gbagbo is not fooled: he does not want to serve as a stooge for the current president. Currently in Belgium, the former president should not return to Côte d'Ivoire before the beginning of June. In the meantime, discussions with the presidency are continuing. It will be a question of the next deadlines between the three men, if the meeting were to take place. And if "HKB" agrees on the principle of it, Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo are currently thinking about how they could benefit from such a communication operation.