Congolese President Joseph Kabila seems ready to exit stage left, but he's not quite ready to leave the building. Jeune Afrique, a well-respected media outlet that focuses on African affairs, reported in late March that Kabila was carefully weighing potential successors in preparation for general elections Dec. 23. But despite demands from domestic opponents and the international community to finally step down after his term ended in late 2016 , Kabila does not appear intent on retreating very far. Instead, the longtime president has begun the search for a malleable character who will permit him to keep pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Going in Search of Goldilocks Since the assassination of his father and predecessor in 2001, Kabila has presided over a political system that has neutralized potential rivals and successors.