President Sweet Micky

Preliminary results suggest that pop star Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly has crushed former First Lady Mirland Manigat in Haiti’s presidential runoff — a dramatic reversal of fortune after the first round of voting didn’t even initially put him in the runoff.  Despite his outsider, populist image, Martelly actually comes from a fairly privileged background: he’s ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

Preliminary results suggest that pop star Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly has crushed former First Lady Mirland Manigat in Haiti's presidential runoff -- a dramatic reversal of fortune after the first round of voting didn't even initially put him in the runoff. 

Despite his outsider, populist image, Martelly actually comes from a fairly privileged background: he's the son of an oil company executive and attended private school and junior college in the U.S. before launching his music career. He's all had a fair bit of help from celebrities and image consultants in his campaign in his transition from the bad boy of compas to polished politician:

Over time, Martelly's shows became legendary, for he was a bona fide provocateur. As the self-proclaimed "bad boy of compas," Martelly mooned the audience, cursed his rivals, and donned diapers and dresses. Many credit him for reviving compas and proving Haitian musicians could earn a decent living.

Preliminary results suggest that pop star Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly has crushed former First Lady Mirland Manigat in Haiti’s presidential runoff — a dramatic reversal of fortune after the first round of voting didn’t even initially put him in the runoff. 

Despite his outsider, populist image, Martelly actually comes from a fairly privileged background: he’s the son of an oil company executive and attended private school and junior college in the U.S. before launching his music career. He’s all had a fair bit of help from celebrities and image consultants in his campaign in his transition from the bad boy of compas to polished politician:

Over time, Martelly’s shows became legendary, for he was a bona fide provocateur. As the self-proclaimed "bad boy of compas," Martelly mooned the audience, cursed his rivals, and donned diapers and dresses. Many credit him for reviving compas and proving Haitian musicians could earn a decent living.

At the time President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed and exiled during his first term, in 1991, Martelly’s fans included former army officers and paramilitary leaders. One of them, Lt. Col. Michel Francois, got Martelly to lead an anti-Aristide protest when a U.N. diplomat arrived in Haiti to negotiate the ousted leader’s return.

Rivals tried to take advantage of Martelly’s onstage antics during the campaign. Manigat, a former senator, avoided direct criticism during the runoff campaign but repeatedly stressed her "morality."

Martelly took the rare step in Haiti of hiring an international campaign consulting firm to transform his "Sweet Micky" alter ego into conservatively dressed presidential material. The Madrid-based Ostos & Sola company earlier had worked on presidential campaigns by U.S. Sen. John McCain and Mexico’s Felipe Calderon.

"Without his handlers, he would have been dead in water," said Jocelyn McCalla, a senior adviser to Haiti’s special envoy to the United Nations.

Martelly also won the endorsement of Wyclef Jean after that popular entertainer’s own bid for the presidency was turned down because he didn’t meet Haiti’s residency requirements.

Martelly has just been handed one of world’s toughest jobs and it’s easy to be skeptical that a booty-shaking carnival singer is up for it. On the other hand, Haiti hasn’t exactly had much luck with leaders from more respectable professions. This is a country that’s been driven to ruin by a cruel doctor, a corrupt priest,  and an ineffectual agronomist.  Maybe it will take a party boy to finally get serious.

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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