"Che Guevara is the ultimate human being who ever lived."

If you had not kept up the divisions between yourself and Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC would probably have succeeded in ousting Mugabe.

I have no appetite for discussing this now. Everything I have done is consistent. There is a method to the madness.

If you follow my activities from 1989 ? on 4 October when I was arrested for the first time and Morgan?s first arrest came on 6 October ? you will see that I am part of the foundation of the struggle.

I would say we have worked together for a long time. And make sure you understand that I have been working in the trenches for more than 20 years.

You have said the government of national unity has been a compromise ? what would it take for you to opt out?

At this point we are not entertaining any form of defeat. We have spent so much time negotiating and working on this compromise. The agenda is very simple. I think we can achieve it by resolving humanitarian crises in our country, national healing, and economic recovery and transformation.

As a former militant student leader, you spoke at UJ of MIT and Oxford University, not of the conditions faced by Zimbabwean students ? why?

I was trying to motivate the students that the sky is the limit. I am not impressed by an activist who fails in an examination.

You go to the streets, you are locked up. I want twinning of academic excellence and social adaptability.

How could the MDC allow Mugabe to have seven extra cabinet members in addition to the 14 agreed on at the swearing-in ceremony?

I go to Parliament where we have 184 MPs ? 184 in agreement. In senate, 72 out of 72. I am calling this unprecedented unanimity. There is some clarity on a need for this thing.

As I have said before, it is a compromise document.

It is the only workable arrangement in our country and we know the limitations and flaws and challenges; how do we come up with a mitigation plan?

Your critics are asking how you came into this high position considering the fact that you do not have an electorate.

Why not ask Tsvangirai and Mugabe? Surely they don?t just throw things away.

What is your view of the amnesty Zanu-PF has allegedly requested the MDC to sign?

It will allegedly wipe a clean slate from 1980. It is nonsense. There is no basis for this story. It is fiction created by careless talkers.

Do you think national healing can take place without people confronting their past?

We want restorative justice, we want to break the cycle of impunity. We want accountability. The truth must be known so we can lay a foundation that says never again will Zimbabweans kill each other over political affiliation. Retribution and revenge are not our tactics. We don?t intend revenge, we intend to heal.

Do you intend to remain in Zimbabwe?

I don?t need to leave the country. I have been there, done that. I got a PhD, wrote books and I am a better person because of it. I had exposure and I am not sorry I went away. I can make a better contribution. I am here to stay and to run the country.

Is there any significance in your Che Guevara beret?

Che Guevara and Malcolm X are my heroes. Che Guevara is the ultimate human being who ever lived. He stands for sacrifice, intellectual prowess, dedication to the collective, high morals, high principles, standing up for what is right. And Malcolm ? I love Malcolm X!?

What is your relationship with Cuba?

I was talking about people of heroic stature like Guevara. It has nothing to do with Cuba, but what he stood for. We look north, south, east and west for opportunities. North, south, west, China?s best? Not for us; we look everywhere for opportunities. We don?t look at the usual suspects ? no, we want to diversify.

Are you a social democrat?

I am for social democratic arrangement underpinned by economic values that leverage the market ? enlightened self-interest within the human rights democratic dispensation. We must try to resolve these challenges in a holistic manner, appreciating the interconnectedness of global challenges. We are revolutionaries who understand that Africa cannot survive as a commodity-based economy. We, the Zimbabweans, are not content to survive on economic support. We want to be masters of our own destiny.

Are you an Africanist?

I am a social democrat, a Zimbabwean, an Africanist, a global citizen, that is why I go to Davos.

Are you angry that the Southern African Development Community was unable to steer Zimbabwe out of crisis?

My view about African institutions is that we must support them. If we don?t like their work, we reform them and defend them and this does not mean that they don?t reform. Whatever reservations we have, we must work on improving them.

At the UJ seminar, you said: ?I have fought Mugabe for 25 years, as a student leader, and now I am fighting him at close range!? How do you intend to do this? I said it publicly so I cannot take it back. I don?t make up stuff about people. What else do you want to know?

Where did you buy your suit?

In the States. What does it matter?