A coalition at national level will not work

It is generally a bad idea to commit predictions to paper but in this we are fairly confident: a coalition at national level will not work. And given the current political climate, the 2024 elections promise to be the biggest stayaway yet.

In the 2021 local elections, voter turnout was reported by the Electoral Commission of SA as 45.86%. Of more than 26 million registered voters, only a little more than 12 million pitched up at voting stations.

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This created a space where smaller parties could take on larger ones, create alliances and break the monopoly being held over municipalities by the ANC. However, the ANC is an old hand at this game and unwilling to give up its hold over the country.

It is fighting back by forming new coalitions with old enemies. As parties make deals for positions in return for support, it is difficult to see how this benefits voters.

With Tshwane, Joburg and Ekurhuleni playing musical chairs over positions, the current politicking is a microcosm of what would happen in a national coalition.

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In the 2019 national and provincial election, voter turnout was 66.05% with 235 472 votes being spoilt. We rocket from one disaster to another, Eskom, riots, Eskom, floods, Eskom and now the latest being the economic growth outlook revised to 0.3%, compared to the previous 0.6% forecast by the monetary policy committee thanks to … wait for it … Eskom.

The advent of Covid was supposed to be the great societal reset where we would rethink and redo things. And yet, here we are barely a year later.

As pointed out by political analyst André Duvenhage, a coalition government formed at national level could lead to high levels of instability, where coalitions have become the battlefield between political parties in between elections. It is time to reset our politicians with our vote. Otherwise, the circus will continue.

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