The people of Kenya are caught between hope and fear. After two months of post-election violence that has left 1000 people dead, the final touches are being added to a power-sharing agreement that creates a Prime Minister's post for the leader of the opposition. The deal is a tribute to the negotiating skills of ex-UN secretary general Kofi Annan and could form the basis for a fresh political beginning for this fractured country that was once seen as the African model for peace and stability. Government and opposition negotiators had already agreed measures to contain the violence, address the humanitarian situation and review the constitution, but until two days ago power-sharing was a main sticking point.

Kenyans are torn between a desire to move on and nervousness that any compromise could spark more fighting. Opposition leader Raila Odinga is right to be cautious about taking the role of Prime Minister. He was promised the same post in 2002 when Mwai Kibaki was swept to power on an anti-corruption platform. But Mr Kibaki reneged on the deal and packed the government with his own Kikuyu supporters.

The difference this time is that the eyes of the world are on Kenya. When Mr Annan arrived in Nairobi, Mr Kibaki was sticking to the fiction that he had won the election and there was nothing to discuss. By playing for time, he hoped to entrench his position. But Kofi Annan had some useful negotiating tools, including, it seems, the EU election observers' conclusion that the margin of victory was smaller than the number of "not credible" votes in Mr Kibaki's favour. By leaving the most contentious issue until last, Mr Annan appears to have pulled off a remarkable diplomatic coup. His softly-softly approach offers a stark contrast with the disastrous heavy-handed US intervention in neighbouring Somalia.

Following through will be more difficult. Currently, most executive power is concentrated in the hands of the President, who appoints the cabinet, calls and dissolves parliament, controls the electoral commission and judiciary and is commander-in-chief of the army. And in the background lie grievances about land, resources and opportunity that are stirred around election time because of a tradition of voting along tribal lines. Kenya cannot take its great leap forward until a new generation of leaders, prepared to put country above tribe and ethnicity, forge new political alignments.

The tragedy is that, following the terrorist outrages of the 1990s, Kenyan tourism had taken off again and, despite corruption, economic growth was running at an annual 5%. Though most Kenyans were still extremely poor, the economy was moving in the right direction. Today, although much of the country is calm, the economy of the entire region is paralysed, tourism has almost collapsed and cargo is piling up in the port of Mombasa. In the Rift Valley, farmers are struggling to dispatch their crops of roses and vegetables to Europe.

Kenyans long for peace. It is up to their warring leaders to put the country first and agree to genuine power-sharing.