Gossip corridor has been preoccupied with the holy marriage of Afewerk Tekle, Ethiopia's celebrated artist. There is no consensus at the gossip corridors on how old he is he could be anywhere from 65 to 80 years old. A visit to Wikipedia has him at age 77.

However old he is, the Honourable Maitre Artist World Laureate Afewerk has tied the knot on May 23, 2009, in a traditional Orthodox Church ceremony held at the St. George Cathedral, to a woman whom he acknowledged had stood by him when he underwent surgery recently, to remove kideny stone. His best men were Wubishet Workalemahu, another personality known for pioneering commercial advertising in Ethiopia, and Maru Tefera, founder of Maru Metal Industry (MMI), gossip disclosed.

On a more solemn front, though, June will be a very critical month to the Revolutionary Democrats. They have to decide on one of the thorniest matter of the time; whether or not their leader should concede executive power, after 18 years being at the helm.

Gossip anticipates that Meles Zenawi will have to bear some criticisms from many of his comrades. On three grounds, gossip says: It was a mistake for him to make public his intention to resign without first getting the permission of the party. After all, wasn't he himself who said he is a solider to the party and does whatever the EPRDF wants him to do, they wonder? Second, he has no succession plan offered to the party. Finally, who else in the leadership would wield as much influence as Meles does with the military, many of them ask, claims gossip.

The verdict, and an overwhelming voice within the rank and file of the ruling party, is that Meles is here to stay as chairman of the EPRDF, commander in chief of the army, and head of the government for yet another five years, according to gossip. This view appears to be shared, almost unanimously, within the leaderships of the OPDO and SPDF, two of the junior partners in the ruling coalition.

However, there are lone voices within the leaderships of the senior partners in the coalition, who argue that it is time for a change in leadership, including several of the senior ones. Not only do they believe the change is symbolic; they see no possibility of an apparent heir to the throne so long as Meles remains in control, claims gossip. This camp is primarily championed by few in the ANDM, and they are joined by politicians within the TPLF central committee, whose identity gossip is yet to establish.

Gossip claims that these are politicians concerned by the indispensable position Meles is getting, and the personality cult that is growing, which they may feel is contrary to their party's tradition.

But others would argue that the stake is too high for the leadership to gamble on him simply to make a symbolic gesture, gossip says. Despite the formal request by Meles, though, the central committee meeting of the EPRDF left the issue unresolved when it last met in February 2009, gossip disclosed. With the national elections coming close, the Revolutionary Democrats are better of clearing up the uncertainty; the meeting to be held in the coming few weeks is highly anticipated not only by the public at large, but also by those who belong to the ruling coalition, claims gossip.