It takes unusual confidence to put up taxes on alcohol, tobacco and fuel shortly before an election. But Benjamin Mkapa, Tanzania's president, is quite sure that he will be re-elected on October 29th, and that his party will win the parliamentary election too. So he makes no concessions to populism. As well as clobbering sinners and drivers, he maintains tight fiscal and monetary policies and tours the country telling people that they must work harder. "We don't promise to bring development to you on a silver platter," he told voters last month.
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