Splinter in the ANC, becoming a plank??
As I sit in the airport lounge, waiting to fly back to Cape Town, there is breaking news that Mosiuoa Lekota, has announced a press conference, at the Prime Media buildings to make an announcement that will dramatically affect the political landscape of the country.
By the time I land this is like to be that a new party will be forming, probably made up of a number of ex ANC members and Mbeki sympathisers (but maybe not). This move will mean that the portion of the ANC membership that is feeling like that no longer wish to support the ANC, will have an alternative in terms of their vote.
This will mean that opposition politics in South Africa finally has the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the running of the country. I may be pre-empting something here and maybe by the time I land nothing will have changed.
I think though, given the statements coming from the ANC that a break-away will not be successful, that they are anticipating a new party to be formed. Start the count down now, with this new party and an aggressive recruitment drive, we could see the ANC lose their two-thirds majority in the house.
This will be the start of effective opposition politics, once again my point, the current ANC NEC (Julius and the boys included) will go down in the history of this country, as changing the landscape forever, all to ensure that one of the cadres did not have to stand trial, and which he may have to do anyway !
The Devil October 9, 2008 - 12:26 pm
There will be a break-away party for sure, as Lekota as served his “divorce papers” to the ANC. How effective such a break away would be remains to be seen. Please remember that Lekota and the other political heavy weights (Ex Mbeki camp) that might go with him has not made much difference in the lives of the previously disadvantaged in SA thus will not carry the popular vote.
Unfortunately this is doomed to fail as a political party consists of people that comes with a political history. Lekota, as much as I like his moderate talk and intellece, has no hope in hell to succeed. He is in the same boat as Roelf Meyer was when he went into partnership with Bantu Holomisa way back when in the in the UDM(?) God I voted for them and am not even sure of the name of the party!
The masses rule and as the real needs of the masses has not been addressed by the Mbeki government we might be in for a bumpy ride under a Zuma lead ANC. Maybe he won’t only talk the talk and might just surprise us all. I surely hope so.
There is division in the ANC, but this, imo is only a small splinter group. Ramaphosa ana Sexwale seems to be in the Zuma camp, maybe they know something we don’t.