Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – In a satirical column for Jeune Afrique, cartoonist and editorialist Damien Glez offers a sharp critique of the recent meeting between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Karim Wade in Doha, humorously dubbing it “the last tango on Qatari soil.“

A widely circulated photo of their handshake on December 8, according to Glez, evokes a tango—an embrace filled with both passion and underlying tension. This metaphor aptly captures the complexity of the meeting, where political, economic, and judicial interests converge.

Glez points out the mystery surrounding who initiated the encounter. “None of the parties have claimed responsibility for arranging the meeting,” he writes, dismissing claims of a simple desire for “openness” made by some observers.

The current regime’s supporters may confirm that Karim Wade can go back to Senegal at any time, but they’ve remained silent on the possibility that his trial for economic crimes and corruption may be reviewed.

The columnist goes on to explore the stakes of the meeting. On one side, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, fresh off his victory in the legislative elections, may seek Wade’s influence in navigating critical economic issues tied to the Gulf region, particularly in managing the Qatari Strategic Investment Fund for Africa.

On the other hand, Karim Wade, although pardoned in 2016, remains burdened by an astronomical fine of “138 billion CFA francs.”

Glez likens their relationship to a “cha cha cha,” marked by “steps forward and steps back,” reminding readers that Wade Jr. had supported Faye in the presidential race but withheld his backing during the legislative elections on November 17.

This political ambivalence, the columnist suggests, is downplayed by Faye’s team, which stresses the economic significance of the meeting.

In an attempt to shift focus away from the political, the Senegalese presidency clarified that the head of state was not meeting with the deputy secretary general of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), but rather with “the former minister of state for cooperation and transport.” This distinction emphasizes the economic nature of the discussion over the political angle.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 22nd edition of the Doha Forum, where the Senegalese president was reportedly defending the image of a “Senegal and Africa that is uninhibited, young, ambitious, and resolutely open to the world.”

This vision contrasts sharply with Karim Wade’s career, which Glez ironically notes, “no longer embodies the next generation” and is “much older than the new Senegalese head of state.”