Zahid Hamidi requires the support of two sides to maintain his status and position.
First, he needs the support of Anwar Ibrahim. Second, he needs the support of Umno.
With Anwar's support, he can win Umno's backing by promising the party positions in the federal government. With Umno's support, he can retain Anwar's backing by promising continued support for the unity government.
The problem is that the two sides Zahid depends on are increasingly unhappy with his support for the other.
Umno is displeased with Zahid's support for Anwar because many within the party believe the alliance is costing Umno support among Malay voters.
At the same time, Anwar is likely unhappy with Zahid because, despite Umno receiving generous rewards for joining the unity government—including the deputy prime ministership and seven cabinet posts—Umno continues to openly attack the government during election campaigns.
So how is Zahid trying to deal with the fact that the two sides he needs for survival are increasingly at odds with one another?
He appears to be supporting both sides while opposing both sides at the same time.
On one hand, he repeatedly declares that Umno will remain loyal to the unity government until GE16.
On the other, he insists that Umno has every right to oppose PH and Anwar at the state level.
When Negeri Sembilan and Johor Umno acted without his knowledge or approval, instead of disciplining them, he chose to voice his approval and support for them.
When his deputy, Tok Mat, practically dared Anwar to sack him, Zahid initially stood behind Tok Mat by saying Anwar was free to dismiss any BN minister if he wished.
He then immediately softened his position by adding that Anwar would never do so because Umno ministers had remained loyal and worked hard.
"The prime minister warned that those who speak ill of other ministers or ministries during the election campaign should resign.
" My answer is that there is no need to ask anyone to resign because the prime minister is the one who appointed the ministers. If he doesn't like us, he can just sack us.
"However, he wouldn't have the heart to sack us because all of us work very hard.
"The power is in his hands. This is an election campaign, and we haven't interfered with Putrajaya at all," Zahid said.
The statement was classic Zahid—support Tok Mat, then reassure Anwar.
What is Zahid hoping to achieve with this strategy of supporting both sides while refusing to fully commit to either?
If you ask me, the only thing Zahid is really achieving is buying time.
And what does he hope to do with that extra time?
I don't think Zahid necessarily has a grand plan.
Rather, as a veteran politician, he understands one fundamental truth about politics:
Politics is never static.
Today's impossible situation may disappear tomorrow because of events no one can predict.
So his objective may simply be to survive long enough for either:
1. His problem to resolve itself; or
2. A new political opening to emerge that he can exploit.
Will that strategy succeed?
That depends entirely on how much time he can buy.
Buying time is not easy.
His "for all and against all" strategy increasingly makes him look inconsistent, if not outright incoherent, in the eyes of the public.
More importantly, it gradually reduces his value to both sides.
PH begins to question Umno's loyalty.
Umno begins to question Zahid's loyalty.
Eventually, he risks becoming indispensable to neither.
I also suspect Zahid is under enormous personal pressure for choosing the "For all and Against All" strategy to deal with his problems.
Imagine constantly praising people who are undermining you while restraining yourself from using your authority to punish those causing you political damage.
That is not an easy position for any politician to endure.
And despite all that restraint and humiliation, there is still no guarantee he will preserve either his office or his influence.
The longer Zahid maintains this "for all and against all"—or perhaps more accurately, "for none and against none"—strategy, the more everyone may come to resent him.
PH may resent him.
Umno may resent him.
The public may resent him.
Eventually, he may even begin to resent himself.
If circumstances change and his political dilemma disappears, then perhaps all this self-restraint and universal contempt will have been worth enduring.
But if, after all this suffering, he still loses the very status and position he has been trying so desperately to preserve, then I would not be surprised if Zahid completely loses his mind and lashes out uncontrollably.
A politician who believes he has nothing left to lose can become more dangerous than a wild animal that is cornered.
If I were a betting man, I'd wager RM1.35 that, sooner or later, we are going to see Wak Zahid go berserk.
Let's see how the cookie crumbles.
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