ANC flag. Picture: Michel Bega
The ANC is not quite placidly wafting along on calm political waters – Thabo Mbeki’s recent whinges have chucked a few pebbles into the pond – but things are more serene internally than they were at the height of the Nasrec elective conference campaigning last year.
Is this because the party’s branches have sent a clear message that they have had enough of factional politics?
It could be, especially if you consider that last year, branch delegates in many instances deviated from what their leaders wanted on a particular election slate, choosing instead to vote with the mandate they were given by their branches.
NOW READ: ANC has to lose power for it to take people and democracy seriously
That alone was something almost unheard of in the ANC, where political horse-trading has for years subverted the democratic will of party members.
It could also be that President Cyril Ramaphosa won such a resounding victory – routing his major contenders – that he is more secure than at any time in his presidency, which means there is little in the way of opposition.
Ramaphosa’s dominance is shown in the fact that his opponents could muster only minuscule support for a move to have him explain publicly exactly what happened at his Phala Phala game ranch.
However, it is far more likely that the ANC – long sitting fat and happy in its own belief that it is the sole and authentic representative of the South African people and will rule, as Jacob Zuma famously said, “until Jesus returns” – has had a wake-up call.
And those alarms were set ringing by the fact that its support is at historically low levels and that it is facing credible opposition from all sides of the political spectrum.
For the first time since 1994, the ANC is contemplating the prospect of losing power, or having to share it. And that’s enough to make anyone go quiet…
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