After his swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, most of the world began referring to Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari as "Mr. President." Many of his compatriots, however, continue to use the jeering moniker by which he has long been known: "Mr. 10 Percent."
Derided as a crook and a liar, a weasel and a wastrel, Zardari, the widower of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, takes office even though most Pakistanis are deeply skeptical about him. For much of his political life, Zardari was known as Bhutto's feckless, freeloading consort, often accused of extracting kickbacks from anyone wishing to do business with his wife's government -- hence, "Mr. 10 Percent."
That helps explain why only 26 percent of Pakistanis supported Zardari in a recent poll by Gallup Pakistan. Not that citizens thought they had great alternatives: Given a choice of three top candidates, 44 percent opted for none of the above.
But the presidency is selected by Pakistan's national and regional assemblies. So Pakistanis are stuck with him. And he's the man that Americans must rely on as a primary partner in our efforts to defeat Al Qaeda in the Pakistani tribal areas.
Can anybody trust him?
Zardari spent 11 1/2 years in jail in Pakistan. He was accused of corruption -- but was never convicted and maintains the charges were "politically motivated."
Many Pakistanis suspect that he was behind the 1996 shooting death of his late wife's brother, Murtaza Bhutto, on the streets of Pakistan.
He, along with Benazir Bhutto, were investigated for corruption in Switzerland, France and Great Britain. The Swiss brought charges against Bhutto and Zardari in 1998, but they were never tried. The charges against Zardari were dropped late last month.
The Financial Times reported that as recently as last year, Zardari suffered from dementia, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Those diagnoses were used by Zardari to fight an effort by Pakistan to sue him in English High Court. That effort was dropped March.
His aides swear he's now fine. He better be, because he's going to need all of his faculties to face the challenges facing him. Pakistanis have been battered by spiraling inflation, a stock market in free fall and a rising domestic insurgency that has claimed more than 1,000 lives in the last year.
If he's serious about cooperating with the U.S. war on terror, he will have to find a way to marshal domestic support. Pakistan's tribal areas have become safe havens for Al Qaeda operatives, who use them as staging ground for attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
And he'll have to prove that he's a sound steward of U.S. aid. During the reign of former President Pervez Musharraf, the U.S. funneled more than $10 billion to Pakistan to aid the country's development and fight terrorism. Where did the money go? Auditors for Congress have said that Pakistan spent little of the money on counterinsurgency efforts. Officials in the U.S. and India suspect that some of the money was instead spent on weapons systems for use in Pakistan's skirmish with India in the disputed region of Kashmir.
Pakistan will continue to need U.S. aid. But we must ensure that the money we send Zardari is used properly.
Mr. 10 Percent has a lot to prove.