Jumped outside my circle of competence last week and, for a while at least, quite enjoyed the experience. Political elections are exciting affairs. And having watched last week’s up close explained why these occasions briefly captivate the rest of us.
On Thursday morning, I even went along to the IEC’s hub at the old Pretoria Show Grounds to get a sense of what happens at the nerve centre. But the fun ended soon for me when having to confront this arcane, parallel world of politicians: an irrational universe where opinion trumps reality.
So, after struggling with bandwidth, sustenance and security, I was delighted to leave on-point coverage to our colleague Linda van Tilburg, who did a splendid job. Am sure you’ll agree after listening to Linda’s punchy interviews on Biznews Radio.
Back inside my circle of competence it was evident the election has been cheered by investors. President Cyril Ramaphosa will have noticed the Rand appreciated 20c, RSA ten year bond yields improved nine points and the big banking shares rose between 3% and 4%. Because that’s the vote he – and the country – really needs.
