“…Popular support in 2009 was the outcome of a ‘social contract’ strengthened from 2004 by the following: - Improving food security, an outcome of a combination of decent rains and Mutharika's FISP (fertiliser subsidy) programme (Chinsinga, : 11–14).
- Attempting to force international buyers to pay better prices for tobacco, which upset companies but was popular locally.
- ‘Courting chiefs’ by improving their pay and fostering reverence for popular traditions (Chinsinga, : 14), and by not acting on the Land Bill, unpopular among chiefs.
- Promoting commerce (e.g. automobile importation skyrocketed) and house/commercial construction, which delighted the urban middle class especially.
- Advocating ethical principles, as had Kamuzu Banda, whom Mutharika often praised (Liponda, ; Chirambo, : 85); these principles compared favourably with the Muluzi years, when regulations broke down because (people said) there was ‘too much freedom’ (Cammack & Kanyongolo, ; Cammack, ).
- Improving public services and fighting blatant corruption (‘zero tolerance’, the arrest of a junior minister and threats against opponents, e.g. UDF) (CABS, ; Tenthani, ).
- Kick‐starting national economic growth and infrastructural development.
…”