In South Africa, ANC holds out its hand to strongest rival
| Cape Town, South Africa
The National Assembly sat until late into the night. By the time the presiding judge announced Cyril Ramaphosa鈥檚 reelection as president of South Africa, some of the newly sworn-in members of Parliament were nodding off in their chairs, despite the harsh lights of the convention center where the solemn inaugural parliamentary session was taking place.
But when Mr. Ramaphosa stood to make his acceptance speech, just before midnight last Friday, his fellow members of the African National Congress were not the only ones to erupt in song and celebration.
Opposition parliamentarians joined in the applause, too, marking an historic shift in South Africa鈥檚 political landscape: the union of several parties under a new 鈥済overnment of national unity,鈥� including the ANC鈥檚 oldest rival, the white-led Democratic Alliance.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onSouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa has brought a white-led, pro-business party into his government. Does this herald a new era of reconciliation or a period of dysfunction and disunity?
鈥淭his is a new chapter for South Africa,鈥� declared John Steenhuisen, the DA鈥檚 leader. 鈥淭he era of coalitions has commenced,鈥� he told reporters outside the conference hall, praising 鈥渁 shared respect and defense of our constitution and the rule of law.鈥�
鈥淥ur people expect all parties to work together to achieve ... a democratic society based on non-racialism, non-sexism, peace, justice and stability,鈥� Mr. Ramaphosa urged in his acceptance speech.
Obliged by disappointing election results to woo opposition parties into a coalition government that could count on a majority in Parliament, Mr. Ramaphosa shocked some of his former allies by bringing the Democratic Alliance into the fold.
A traditionally white party that opposed apartheid, the center-right DA has lost many Black members in recent years. Its pro-business and free-market program is often at odds with the ANC鈥檚 left-wing social policies.
Controversial former President Jacob Zuma, who has been expelled from the ANC and is boycotting the new Parliament, was especially harsh. At a press conference on Sunday, he slammed what he called a 鈥渞eturn of apartheid and colonialism.鈥�
鈥淭here is no government of national unity in South Africa,鈥� he argued. 鈥淭here is a white-led unholy alliance between the DA and the ANC.鈥�
He was not the only one to think like that over the weekend, as people pondered with a hint of perplexity on what their parties had gained and conceded in the deal. For many of them, the inclusion of the DA in government cast a troubling shadow.
鈥淭o see a revolutionary party like the ANC deciding to go with the former enemy 鈥� they鈥檝e abandoned the majority of the people,鈥� says tour operator Benjamin Zondo, who lives on the outskirts of Cape Town. While he used to support the ANC, the 30-year-old voted this year for the new party Mr. Zuma had formed, uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK).
Mr. Zondo had watched the National Assembly proceedings on television, even as they continued late into the night. 鈥淚 would have loved to see the ANC going with MK or the [radical-left] Economic Freedom Fighters, because their ideologies are more similar: to uplift the Black majority and change the system,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ow the ANC have proven they鈥檙e willing to abandon the policies they鈥檝e been pushing for 30 years.鈥�
ANC supporter Rachid Mugerwa, on the other hand, says he was 鈥渧ery happy鈥� with the arrangement. 鈥淚t has shown another era where people come together,鈥� the businessman says. 鈥淣ow they won鈥檛 be rivals; there won鈥檛 be intimidation; they鈥檙e going to bring their different visions together.鈥�
The 鈥済overnment of national unity鈥� announced by Mr. Ramaphosa is an overt reference to 1994: After South Africa鈥檚 first democratic elections, which the ANC won overwhelmingly, Nelson Mandela formed a government with former apartheid leader F.W. de Klerk to ensure inclusivity in the transition to democracy.
But 30 years later, Mr. Ramaphosa鈥檚 attempts at unity won him only 283 votes out of 400 members of Parliament 鈥撀燼bout 70% of the National Assembly.
鈥淔or all practical purposes, this is a coalition鈥� with the ANC, the DA, and the Zulu-led Inkatha Freedom Party, explains political analyst Sandile Swana, who teaches at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. 鈥淭hey call it a government of national unity for cosmetics,鈥� he says.
鈥淚t is also an acknowledgement, by both the opposition parties and to a certain extent the ANC, that it lacks capacity to run the country properly,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he ANC have discredited themselves on virtually every front, so they are coming into this relationship to be rescued. The DA is the big winner here, because this is falling on their lap.鈥�
The day after the coalition announcement, families enjoying a sunny weekend on Cape Town鈥檚 seaside promenade welcomed the maturity with which this unprecedented shift had taken place.
鈥淚鈥檓 cautiously optimistic,鈥� says Rory Cohen, an accountant walking his dog in the warm afternoon. He hoped the DA鈥檚 鈥渃ompetent leadership鈥� and 鈥渃redible policies鈥� could steer the country in the right direction. 鈥淚t鈥檚 got so much potential聽鈥撀爄t鈥檚 just a case of putting one鈥檚 differences aside.鈥�
A little farther down the promenade, a woman named Fay, who asked to be identified by her first name only and described herself as a 鈥済rassroots activist鈥� in the fight for democracy, shared a similar sentiment.
鈥淚t is a bit of a shock to the system but it holds an opportunity for robust engagement,鈥� she says.
Sharing an ice cream with her husband by the sea, she reflected on her past. 鈥淗aving survived apartheid, I would never be able to vote for the DA,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 represent the interests of the majority in this country, because they鈥檙e an extension of apartheid.鈥�
But the ANC 鈥渘eeded to be humbled,鈥� she says. 鈥淗opefully, this multiparty character will give the government the robustness the country needs.鈥�
Mr. Swana, the analyst, is more dubious about the prospects of a Cabinet containing a wide range of opposing political views.
鈥淲e cannot ignore the history that the first government of national unity [GNU] did not go as well as they say it did,鈥� he points out. Nelson Mandela鈥檚 unity Cabinet lasted barely two years, with the apartheid-era National Party鈥檚 withdrawal in June 1996.
鈥淭here is a clear, definite risk that this GNU might be unstable, just like the first one,鈥� says Mr. Swana. 鈥淚t is not a silver bullet. It鈥檚 going to be complicated.鈥�
