Osman deliberately avoided winning the premiership to sidestep breaking up an unpopular cabinet

Evidence

I am greatly relieved as it would have been embarrassing if I gained a majority for the premiership. The most serious difficulty would have been how to deal with some ministers of the outgoing cabinet, who in the past three years put themselves in positions to be hated by the Darod or the Hawiye. It would have been advisable to keep them out of the cabinet, although they would resent their marginalization. Thank God it is the responsibility of the prime minister to deal with them. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 388

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Osman’s relief at losing reveals a distinctive political ethic — leaders steering deliberately away from victory to avoid clan-damaging decisions — that complicates the standard ambition narrative of democratic office-seeking.
• QUESTION: This attitude — relief at not winning — is striking in party politics literature. Was Osman exceptional among Somali leaders of his era, or a product of SYL norms about clan balance?