ANTANANARIVO, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Yet another power-sharing deal has been brokered between Madagascar's political rivals following months of turmoil. [ID:nL7167459] But will this one stick? Here are some questions and answers on:
WHAT'S IN THE LATEST AGREEMENT?
* Coup-instigator Andry Rajoelina remains president of Madagascar but he will be flanked by two co-presidents.
* Deposed leader Marc Ravalomanana has named Fetison Andrianirina, a close ally and former head of his negotiation team, as one co-president.
* The other is Emmanuel Rakotovahiny, picked as vice-president in last month's re-jigging of top jobs. The latest agreement struck in Addis Ababa scrapped the post of vice president.
* Eugene Mangalaza, a relative unknown picked in October, keeps the prime minister's office. Mangalaza, put forward by exiled former President Didier Ratsiraka, is considered politically neutral.
* Backers of Mangalaza, a social anthropology and philosophy professor, say this suits Madagascar's needs.
* There will be 31 cabinet posts: six for each of the four political movements and seven for "other political forces".
IS THIS A WIN-WIN SITUATION?
* On the face of it, this is a deal that allows both Rajoelina and Ravalomanana to claim victory.
* Rajoelina, 35, has previously failed to win the international community's backing after regional blocs suspended the oil and mineral-endowed country. He is now Madagascar's internationally-recognised leader.
* Ravalomanana, who lives in exile in South Africa, re-enters the arena with a hold on the co-presidency, although he will play no direct role in the transitional government.
* How executive power is shared and exercised between the president and the twin-headed, presidential council will perhaps determine who the bigger winner is.
IS THE CRISIS OVER?
* It is too early to say. The African Union has made clear that Madagascar remains suspended until a consensus government is in place and there is a clear roadmap to elections.
* Earlier power-sharing deals struck by the leaders in Maputo in August, and a subsequent agreement in October, ran into trouble due to political ambition, private interests and debts of loyalty. [ID:nL8454656]
* While Rajoelina says the two new co-presidents merely replaced the previously envisaged vice president, Ravalomanana will probably see them as a check and balance on his successor.
* "I think the deal brokers see the co-presidents as a honorary thing, to flatter egos, and it is Rajoelina who will really be in charge," said Lydie Boka of risk-consultancy group, StrategieCo..
* Cabinet posts could provide another flash-point. Rajoelina and Ravalomanana have both demanded the Ministry of Justice -- the initial power-sharing deal called for charges of abuse of office levelled against Ravalomanana to be cancelled.
* Presidential elections are slated for late 2010. The adversaries must now prove that working together comes before jockeying for positions before the ballot.
WILL THE DEAL REVIVE THE ECONOMY?
* The deal will allow donors to resume aid without flouting their own democratic ideals. Some 70 percent of government spending comes from budgetary assistance.
* Some donors, such as France which has maintained close political and business ties since Madagascar's independence in 1960, are likely to move faster than others, analysts said.
* Others may await free and transparent elections before turning on the taps once more, one western diplomat said.
* Major foreign companies such as mining giants Rio Tinto
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, Sherritt International
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and oil firms Total
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and Exxon Mobil
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will want to know where this deal leaves Rajoelina's talk of revising existing contracts.
* Political stability will help Madagascar's badly hit tourism industry which has been worth $390 million a year. (Editing by David Stamp)
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