Zimbabweans were shocked when their Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai failed to clinch the coveted Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. It was won instead by United States President Barack Obama, something that stunned everyone including his own people as he was a rank outsider.

Tsvangirai's loss was a grim reminder that it is not so much what you do for your country that is important but rather how what you do fits in with Western interests. Tsvangirai lost because, though he brought peace to Zimbabwe, he has failed to kick out Robert Mugabe, one of the West's worst enemies. That was, and remains, unacceptable.

Tsvangirai is very popular at home. No one can steal that away from him. He has been for more than a decade. Poll after poll has indicated that he is far ahead of Mugabe. Even when he lost the 2002 presidential elections to Mugabe polls still showed that Tsvangirai was more popular.

This might sound good news for the people of Zimbabwe, but it is not good news for the West, especially for business. Tsvangirai's worst enemy is his trade union background. He built his name by fighting for the rights of the ordinary worker. His political base is built on the workers. Others who have joined him are just hangers on riding on his popularity. That includes the West. They see Tsvangirai as a tool to remove their archenemy, Robert Mugabe, not as a good leader to replace Mugabe. Temporarily, yes. Because his base is the worker, that is not good for business.

This was amply demonstrated in the 2008 elections when the West poured resources into the Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn project. Simba Makoni and his team which included international finance experts were good for business. But the people of Zimbabwe voted for the person they knew had the political solution to their problems. It was the same in 1980. The people voted for the person they knew could end the war. The West was in favour of Joshua Nkomo, who was good for business.

Despite the rhetoric from the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front that Tsvangirai is a front for the West and is funded by the West, Tsvangirai remains essentially a socialist. No one can steal that from him. It is what he has fought for, for nearly three decades, the emancipation of the working class. It's bad for ZANU-PF because it has robbed the party of its political base. It is also bad for the West because it is not good for business. Business thrives when one can exploit the working class.

Contrast Tsvangirai's loss and the nomination of Finance Minister Tendai Biti as the Best Finance Minister in Africa, and you get the drift of what must be done to be a darling of the West.

Tsvangirai is only popular with the West by default. He is their only hope of getting Mugabe out. Once that's done, Tsvangirai can go hang.