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ANC and DA in too much of a rush to form GNU?
The ANC and DA are in deadlock over the key trade, industry and competition (DTI) department which was taken off the table by Ramaphosa this week .
ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa and DA leader John Steenhuisen. Pictures: The Citizen
The African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA) and other political parties are in too much of a rush to form a government of national unity (GNU) when it has taken other countries much longer to form a government.
This is according to political analyst and North-West University Professor Andre Duvenhage.
According to a social media post shared by SAA board chairperson Derek Hannekom, it took Portugal 98 days and Belgium 541 days to form a coalition government.
Germany took 161 days, Spain 126 days and Greece 104 days to form a coalition.
Reposting this, it usually takes a while pic.twitter.com/XUMPTOIn5L
— Derek Hanekom (@Derek_Hanekom) June 27, 2024
Optimism
Duvenhage told The Citizen that South Africa may be a little too optimistic about forming a GNU within a month.
“I’m thinking, due to timelines, we are busy with what may be seen as a quick fix. The argument is absolutely correct that it sometimes took long periods, up to months [to form a government]. You can also mention the Netherlands in recent times taking months before they established a coalition government.
“What happened in European countries with strong established states, is the bureaucracy can take on the tasks. The South African situation is a bit more difficult because we have shown many elements of a failing state needing direction. And in a way, this is putting pressure to bring about some consistency in the system. Therefore, there’s a lot of pressure for creating a cabinet,” Duvenhage said.
ALSO READ: WATCH: South Africans losing trust in ANC and DA – Analyst
Challenges
The ANC and DA are in a deadlock over the key trade, industry and competition (DTI) department which was taken off the table by Ramaphosa this week. The position has been at the centre of several heated correspondence between the parties in recent days.
Duvenhage said there are major challenges in forming the GNU.
“It is on a knife edge at the moment. It can really go any way. What we have seen in the letter from the President is an ultimatum that he would like to put his government in place towards Sunday, and it’s not going to wait for the DA.
“But this may have far-reaching implications for stability in the country. If he’s going the way of, let’s say a minority government because that’s another scenario just using small parties to create an absolute majority, then it is a difficult one. How do you mobilize all these parties for all the complicated issues from different sides of the spectrum? This is not going to be a stable environment,” Duvenhage warned.
Not bothered about voters
Meanwhile, political analyst Ebrahim Fakir criticised the handling of power-sharing talks, claiming South Africans are losing trust in political parties, particularly the ANC and DA.
“A party which has lost majority pretends as if it has the sort of commanding hubris to be able to tell everyone else what they want to do. It is frankly surprising to me that political parties don’t appear to realise that how they behave exceeds a greater amount of mistrust. A distrust not just in them, but in the institutions of government generally.
“I think they still pretend as if the whole process of the elections and forming a government is all about themselves. They look after their interests and what they can get their grubby hands on… When in fact, the formation of government is about people, voters, and citizens.
“Yet it appears that in all of their discussions, that’s the very last thing that they are actually bothered about,” Fakir said.
ALSO READ: Dear John: Ramaphosa lambastes Steenhuisen and Zille in scathing letter
