With preparations in place for Hamid Karzai’s inauguration for a second term as Afghan’s president, many people are wondering what kind of man he actually is. Three former high-ranking Dutch administrators who worked with him know him better than most.
 

It appears that Hamid Karzai never starts the day feeling he is as much in charge as he was the day before. Dutch ambassador Hans Blankenberg, who worked in Kabul until this summer, witnessed a man who “can be charming but also highly unpredictable” operating in a “slippery” world of ever-changing alliances and clan loyalties. An Afghan swamp in which he  tries to hold his ground.
 
The former ambassador says these confusing and unofficial relations mean nothing is really sure or secure, and you never know what’s going to happen from day to day when there are no rules, no institutions: “But that doesn’t imply that Karzai is powerless,” he adds.

Mr Blankenburg notes that the president was “a master” in dealing with the almost daily changes in alliances. “Otherwise he couldn’t have remained in charge for so long. So, yes, he has power, but no certainty, and that is a bizarre situation.”
 
Another Dutchman, Daan Everts, served in Afghanistan for many years as NATO’s highest civilian representative. He too saw a Karzai who knew perfectly well how things worked in his country, but also had to take account of the wishes of the international community. Mr Everts agrees with the ambassador that there are “huge pressures” on Hamid Karzai.
 
Torrent of criticism
Daan Everts travelled the entire country and regularly visited the president. He believes the torrent of criticism which has descended on President Karzai in recent months regarding his corrupt leadership must be seen in perspective. Mr Everts, who is now in charge of the OSCE mission in Kosovo, regards Hamid Karzai as a "religious man who lives very simply", leads a corrupt country, continues to protect its warlords and also has to deal with the failures of the international community.
 
"It's just opportunism to say now that he's no good. Karzai is not a crook. All kinds of forces are in play in this country. Since NATO was so fragmented and had various national political agendas, we were also an unclear factor for him as a leader. A succession of diplomats visited him making different demands. At the same time Afghans were being killed in air raids by the international community. He had to balance all that, since the warlords came straight to him with complaints about his international allies."
 
Slippery
Former Dutch foreign minister Ben Bot probably had the biggest diplomatic battle in President Karzai's palace. He was appealing for proper administration in an underdeveloped country where - what Hans Blankenberg calls - "slippery" informal alliances are of paramount importance.

Mr Bot asked Hamid Karzai to sack one of his most loyal allies: Uruzgan governor Jan Mohammed Khan. President Karzai refused because Jan Mohammed Khan had saved his life and also had the support of the Americans.
 
Charming
Ben Bot increased the pressure and pointed out the corrupt practices of this "super crook". Otherwise we're not coming, he apparently threatened, and withdrew the offer of deploying a Dutch military contingent in Uruzgan. He got his way. Immediately afterwards Karzai was charming, says Mr Bot, and gave him a tour of the old king's palace. "Yes, that's just typical. I've always admired that side of him."
 
The fact is that the battle between Dutch ideals and Karzai's allies has still not been won. With Hamid Karzai's support Jan Mohammed Khan has become the covert leader of Uruzgan, together with his blood relative Mathiullah Khan. He is more powerful that the current governor, Asadullah Hamdam.
 
Ben Bot lets out a sigh as he considers the situation. The local alliances seem to have defeated the international effort for democracy. The situation in Afghanistan is complex, he concedes, and the sacking of Jan Mohammed Khan "may have been a miscalculation". But he is "not unhappy with the way things are going in Uruzgan".