WHEN Blaise Compaore, the president of Burkina Faso, selected a location for his palace, he chose Ouaga 2000, a district about 10km from downtown Ouagadougou, the capital. Opened in 2005, Kosyam Palace stands alone at the end of an empty avenue--a symbol of the president's isolation.
The 63-years-old is apparently used to loneliness. His political alliances tend not to last. In the years after coming to power in a 1983 coup, he prosecuted his fellow putschists. Many of them died. By 1987 he was in sole charge. Now it may be his turn to be abandoned ahead of elections in 2015. Or not.
Technically, Mr Compaore can't run. He himself introduced term limits into the constitution. But in December 2013, following national day celebrations, he suggested that the constitution could be changed. This was not greeted with universal applause.
The president had already antagonised many by trying to reshape the legislature to give himself more control. Rumours suggest he would like his brother Francois to head a new senate.
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