Best of 2024: Dirk Hartford on Election’24 – SA’s ‘second miracle’

South Africa's 2024 elections have been dubbed the country's "second miracle," echoing the hope of 1994. Amid rising political fragmentation, ethnic-based alignments, and the rise of MK's anti-constitutional agenda, the formation of a grand coalition government marks a victory for constitutionalists and a reaffirmation of the Freedom Charter's vision. But challenges loom. As tensions mount with MK's growing influence and opposition rhetoric, the GNU faces an uphill battle to deliver on its promises. Explore this deep dive into South Africa's shifting political landscape, its resilient democratic ideals, and the forces threatening them..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..The seventh BizNews Conference, BNC#7, is to be held in Hermanus from March 11 to 13, 2025. The 2025 BizNews Conference is designed to provide an excellent opportunity for members of the BizNews community to interact directly with the keynote speakers, old (and new) friends from previous BNC events – and to interact with members of the BizNews team. Register for BNC#7 here..Election'24 was SA democracy's 'second miracle', but challenges loom.In a nation where the first democratic election in 1994 was hailed as a miracle, Election'24 has once again earned this accolade. Against a backdrop of increasing political fragmentation and ethnic-based party alignments, the outcome is a testament to the enduring vision of the Freedom Charter: a South Africa that belongs to all its people. This election has seen the rise of the constitutionalists, securing control amidst turbulent opposition from MK, a party intent on dismantling the constitution. As the country grapples with these polarizing forces, the newly formed grand coalition government embodies the long-fought-for dream of a non-racial democratic state..By Dirk Hartford___STEADY_PAYWALL___.If our first democratic election in 1994 was a miracle (it was, if you recall what happened right up to election day), then our 2024 elections also deserve the accolade of a miracle..It is the best possible outcome that could be imagined for all those – black, coloured, Indian and white – who fought in the liberation struggle for the Freedom Charter's opening lines – "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people"..The Constitution is the great gain of the liberation struggle, and it is and should be the battle line where the fight goes forward..It has now been drawn more clearly than ever before, ultimately by the voters' choices in the election, but specifically by the political parties they represent and where they have constellated after the election of the President..The constitutionalists are in control. That is the miracle that must be strengthened..But MK, the party rising phoenix-like against almost all other parties stagnation or deflation, is going for broke. They want, first and foremost, to get rid of the Constitution..That is what we as a country are up against right now. And MK doesn't play according to constitutional rules, even though Zuma has also been devastating in his abuse of Roman-Dutch law to keep him from "justice"..Read more: Hersov, Augoustatos: South Africa's bureaucratic bloat – we need a DOGE!.The GNU/grand coalition government is the realisation of the anti-apartheid struggle's goal of a "non-racial democratic state"..In the struggle years, all races were organised separately by necessity but came together under the banner of the national democratic movement to fight the apartheid regime..Whether we like it or not, 30 years later, our political parties are more primarily race/ethnicity-based then, and these identities are growing exponentially politically..The PA and the Coloured People's Congress are popular among coloureds. The DA and Action SA are popular among white minorities/Afrikaners. MK is popular among Zulus, and the ANC is especially popular among Xhosas..The EFF, to its credit, is the only major player hard to pin down ethnically because of Malema's militant pan-Africanism..The ANC, EFF and MK are constitutionally non-racial. In reality, they are all far from the non-racialism of the mass democratic organisations in the 80's, which brought apartheid to its knees..You can count the number of coloured, Indian and whites in the ANC's 100-strong NEC on one hand. And the EFF has got Carl Niehaus. And MK's got Louis Liebenberg..You can say with confidence that the vast majority of "minority" activists in the anti-apartheid struggle are disillusioned with where things have ended up..The vast majority of black activists as well, let it be said, which is why the ANC is where it is. But here we are talking "minority" activists..This does not mean that they embrace the likes of the DA. On the contrary, only a handful have, publicly at least, pinned their flag to that mast..If anybody else appealed in this election to that generation of radical "minorities" it was Rise Mzanzi and Zachie Achmat. And look where they ended up..Ramaphosa's ANC and the DA/FF+, PA etc are the only show in town now for minorities.Is it not time to acknowledge them as the current incarnation of the democratic ideals of the majority of white, coloured and Indian people without having to feel ashamed by that?.There is a feeling of disillusionment among some of this layer about the GNU. Chippy Shaik, of arms deal infamy and from the legendary ANC/MK Shaik family, just burned his ANC shirt on TikTok in disgust..It is hard to imagine his brothers following suit. These issues go to the heart of even the most united families..There are many more among the tens and thousands of activist patriots (who look like Jay Naidoo/Trevor Manuel/Alec Erwin) from the pre-Zuma presidency era who are undoubtedly heaving a sigh of relief..They know better what Zuma and, to a far lesser extent, Malema represent..Till now, crossing to the DA is a bridge too far. It rankles, however, unfairly, given the DA's history in our democracy, to cross over from the ANC to the DA..It's like admitting that your whole life, all you have sacrificed for, was a failure, and you have to go back to where you came from..It's like you condoning (white) monopoly capital's grip on an economy with the widest gap between rich and poor on the planet..It's like you think that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was the end of the atonement. Zuma's story always starts before whites come..Fortunately, Cyril Ramaphosa's ANC choice of partner has exonerated this layer now because Ramaphosa's decision represents the right action in the circumstances..There are very few (if any, bar Niehaus) from that generation who will throw their lot in with EFF or MK now..The truth is that, in some ways, they do have to go back to where they came from. They came from the Congress of Democrats, the Indian Congress, the Coloured Peoples Congress, etc., from the 50s until democracy—decades of the anti-apartheid struggle..Read more: Internal turmoil, Zuma's 'big boss' grip, and Zulu focus cap MK party's vote share at 10-15 percent.They threw their lot in with the ANC for the past 30 years, but their fellow whites, coloureds and Indians didn't follow suit. They just voted overwhelmingly for the DA and PA..It's time to accept that a non-racial democracy is not something in the constitution of political organisations, but in the political organisation of races and ethnicities as they express themselves now..Zuma and Malema are not the same thing, even though their policies and manifestos appear very similar. MK's manifesto – for what it's worth – is more hardline than the EFF's..Malema is much more of a constitutionalist than Zuma. He wants to get sufficient support to change the Constitution on issues like land. The DA might also want to change aspects of the constitution..Zuma wants to abolish the Constitution altogether. It has not served his constituency, so this is no big deal – it's not worth the paper it's written on..The GNU, besides facing up to its MK/EFF opposition with resoluteness, is going to have to start delivering on as many fronts as possible..MK crystallises all the disgruntled and victimised forces in today's ANC, uniting behind Zuma's martyr story..Most likely, 60% of eligible voters who did not vote also suffered. Buying into Zuma's revenge project doesn't take much if you have nothing..In their narrative, "Ramaphosa's ANC" is a creation and instrument of white monopoly capital. If so, it's only because Ramaphosa's ANC believes being the blunt instrument of a feudal, traditional, global criminal caste is even worse..MK (and, to a far lesser extent, PA and the CPC) is the only growing party in SA. Its centrifugal energies of the past 6 months have been all in their favour no matter what obstacles they faced..It cannot be stressed enough how opportunist and chaotic their modus operandi, insofar as it even has one, will be..It's already in full cry. Sunday's chaotic MK press conference is a harbinger of what's to come..It's silly to try to predict where this is going. So long as Zuma is alive and dancing—and he most certainly is—anything is possible with MK..Chaos, distrust, conspiracy, fake news, violence, victimhood, Zulu nationalism, revolution, Trumpism – expect all and more from MK..By the way, you only have to see the extent and sophistication of their online presence, not to mention whichever experts they say analysed the election results on their behalf, to feel the hand of a foreign power..MK is 6 months old on the face of things, and EFF is 10 years old. MK is old, backwards, traditionalist, and revengeful. EFF is young, modern, pan Africanist and hopeful..Malema, unpalatable as it sounds, is the (Winnie) Mandela of today's generation in the ANC. Like Mandela did from 1949 talking "truth" to the powers in the ANC through the Youth League, so did Malema..And he got expelled for it. By Ramaphosa nogal. And he became the main force to fight back ("Pay back the money") against Zuma's ANC. You have to give him that if you know what that meant inside the ANC..But now he and Zuma are the clear opposition to the GNU who they will continue to frame as the victory of "white monopoly capital" over "Ramaphosa's ANC"..Its time to face them down wherever they posture..Neither MK or the EFF have anything to do with SA's socialist left where the working class was and is always central. If anything they are both rightwing neo-fascist/feudalist organisations very much in keeping with dominant trends in the western world..Read also.Riches beyond belief, yet the Vatican pleads poverty – Ivo VegterGauteng: Change coming for the cities in 2026 – Seán McLaughlinEskom forecasts first profit since 2017 despite mounting losses and municipal debt

Best of 2024: Dirk Hartford on Election’24 – SA’s ‘second miracle’

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