The epitome of a ‘loyal opposition’

Many of our political radicals have been venting their spleen about the compromises the ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa had to make to get the government of national unity (GNU) off the ground.

The accusation is that the ANC has sold out the revolution, done the bidding of “white monopoly capital” (thanks to a white, UK firm for coming up with that slogan, by the way) or simply reinstated apartheid.

None of those aspersions is close to being correct, at least to anyone who understands the nuances and realities of current South African politics.

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However, it must have been grist to the mill for the critics of Ramaphosa and the ANC to see the president’s appointment of Freedom Front Plus (FF+) leader Pieter Groenewald as minister of correctional services.

While he might be portrayed as a right-winger whose party supports the idea of autonomy for the white enclave of Orania, Groenewald is, like many Afrikaners, a pragmatic and diplomatic man.

He is light years away from the foam-at-the-mouth image of Eugene Terre’Blanche. He is also prepared to take positions that perhaps one might not expect of someone in his position.

He did this last year, after the fracas that followed the stage invasion by the EFF at the State of the Nation Address by Ramaphosa. After DA leader John Steenhuisen complained about armed security personnel being deployed in the incident, Groenewald praised them, saying the safety of the head of state was of paramount importance.

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And, in that moment, the FF+ leader showed he puts other things ahead of scoring political points.

That is just the sort of attitude which will be needed, not only to get the GNU working, but also to rescue South Africa.

He epitomises the concept of a “loyal opposition”, where a government can be criticised, but not at the expense of the country.