Humiliated, following a disastrous showing at the polls, where the ANC’s share of the national vote shrank by 35% (from over 10 million in 2019 to just 6.5 million in 2024), the ruling party finds itself in unfamiliar territory - an era of coalition politics.
It’s been a rude awakening for the ANC, which has enjoyed a healthy majority and seemingly unassailable grip on power for 30 years.
From 220 seats in Parliament to 159, it’s safe to say the mighty have fallen.
But rather than acknowledge its dismal performance, and take stock of the 35% of its own supporters who have evidently lost faith in the party, and its leader Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC has resolved to hastily lick its wounds, stay positive and embrace change.
Party bigwigs have had urgent coalition talks and have reportedly already met with opposition leaders to propose power deals.
The media has been rife with speculative reports of potential alliances and how those might be structured, detailing everything from bridging ideological differences to appointments to key positions.
The ANC’s latest play has been to present the ignominious and unavoidable coalition deal as a “government of national unity”.
A positive spin - which harkens back the good old days of Madiba Magic and the Rainbow Nation - but let’s face it, times have changed. The ANC has changed.
A government of national unity is defined as a broad coalition government consisting of major parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.
From 1994 to 1999, it served to ensure inclusivity and civil cohesion during a tense transition period from apartheid to democracy.
It effectively fizzled after just two years when FW de Klerk admitted his National Party was a mere passenger in a state vehicle going in a very different direction.
What is the war or emergency South Africa now faces? The threat of Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto we Sizwe Party, which has received the democratic stamp of approval from over 14.5% of the electorate? No.
It is the emergency of an imploding ANC, which has failed South Africans, who in turn, have given their complacent leaders the ice-cold slap in the face they deserve.
* Taariq Halim, Western Cape Regional Editor.
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