Splitting the ANC
The formation of a breakaway party of erstwhile African National Congress members comes ever closer to fruition. Former Defense Minister Mosiuoa “Terror” Lekota, who resigned from his post after Mbeki’s forced resignation, has “dropped a bombshell” and “served his divorce papers” to the ANC. Lekota seems determined not only to sever his ties with the ANC but also to move forward with plans to establish a competing political force.
A meeting of more than 300 ANC dissidents in Cape Town this past has merely fueled the speculation, with their denials that they discussed forming a new party and assertions that they only met to help put the party’s house in order convincing few observers. Plans for future meetings (”consultative conferences”) of prominent former members (it still seems odd to attach “former” to these long-time ANC stalwarts) on the outs solidifies the impending tectonic shifts.
The formation of a new party will also require the emergence of party leadership. Assuming Thabo Mbeki does not want to assume a position of power – it seems obvious that the post would be available for him and that he would demur — Lekota’s gambit surely must be geared toward placing himself in position to take on the party’s mantel. In case there is not enough drama for the casual observer of South African politics, the emergence of a new party should help quench their thirst.
Given that little surprises in South African politics, perhaps a reconciliation of the ANC will be possible. Key players within the ANC are playing their roles. President Kgalema Mothlante exudes optimism. How he handles this break will be central to his own political future, after all, so he needs to come across as a unifying force. Jacob Zuma, meanwhile, is predictably combative, asserting that any new party is “doomed to fail.” But for now it seems evident that the party has split and that the divisions, both personal and political, are irreconcilable.
October 10th, 2008 at 1:27 am
I have just returned to South Africa after 6 years in Dubai and started my own political party to take part in next year’s elections. All the intellectual talk about the rulings party’s woes make interesting reading but it boils down to a matter of ‘cannot see the wood for the trees’. Their little squabbles are not going to change the current course of the country. The perceptions from abroad are that South Africa is on the skids. The country is on that slippery slide downhill and will soon be where the rest of Africa finds itself. The spectre of another Zimbabwe is looming. I do not believe that the country needs a radical new political ideology to drive it. It only needs good management. We must guard our Constitution and make things happen. That’s what I am all about. Read more on my website at www.aparty.org.za.
Regards,
Mr. A