In April 2019, Deutsche Welle asked a blunt question many Ethiopians were already debating at home: had Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s reform drive begun to stall a year after he took office in a country that had felt close to collapse?
Supporters still pointed to prisoner releases, diplomatic breakthroughs, and a softer public tone from the center. Critics said the hard work—security-sector reform, credible answers to ethnic federalism disputes, and protection for civilians amid localized violence—was moving too slowly or being traded for charismatic politics.
The piece is lasting reference material because it marks the end of the honeymoon narrative in English-language coverage. From that point forward, analysis of Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party project increasingly had to weigh openings against unfinished wars of authority inside the federation.
Sources: Deutsche Welle
