Better angels prevailed - now SA’s politicians must make the GNU work

So, they did it! 

Despite all the threats of a doomsday scenario, a deal was struck between the African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and some of the other smaller political parties. I have to say that I wasn’t surprised that the ANC went this way. For the last year, I have reassured my clients that the ANC would – albeit begrudgingly – rather go with the DA and IFP than with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) or the uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party. 

Yet, thanks to the DA’s consistent doomsday campaign, people – especially those in the financial sector – remained sceptical and worried that the ANC would form a coalition with the far-left EFF or, even worse, amend the Constitution to ensure that they could stay in power despite defeat at the polls. 

This is in some way understandable, given the tendency to do exactly that among former liberation movements-turned-governments in many countries with similar histories and socioeconomic inequalities. 

Yet, despite the disaster that unfolded during the Zuma years, I still find it bizarre that so many in our country seem to think that those in government are stupid and that they have no clue about the impact of certain choices. 

“Do you think they know how the markets would react to a coalition with the EFF?” I would be asked this almost daily. My answer was always: “Of course, they do.” 

To think that Cyril Ramaphosa, Enoch Godongwana and many of those in control of the ANC are oblivious to the negative economic impact a coalition with anti-market forces such as the EFF would have is frankly insulting. People like the President have as good an understanding of factors that impact on the markets as any other economist or asset manager in this country or abroad. 

This is why I wasn’t surprised that the ANC accepted the concept of a Government of National Unity (GNU), which included some form of agreement with the DA, IFP and even the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and other smaller parties. 

As much as I wasn’t concerned about the ANC doing what many would describe as the “right thing”, I was worried about whether the DA would enter such an agreement. So, let me give credit to the negotiators and leadership of the DA; I’m sure that it was not easy for them. As one of the new DA legislators remarked to a journalist after the election of the President: “I never thought my first act as a DA parliamentarian would be to vote for the ANC.” 

I was also impressed – although less surprised – by the manner in which the FF+ entered into an agreement with the ANC in the Northern Cape after the election. Its demands were few: security for Orania, an agency to solicit public-private partnerships and the chair of the local government oversight committee. The party even declined an offer for certain MEC positions. Given the good working relationship between the ANC and FF+ in the Northern Cape since 1994, the deal was made quickly and without any difficulty. “Welgedaan, julle!” 

One of the earliest deals was the one in KwaZulu-Natal with the IFP. Even before the final votes were announced, word at the IEC results centre was that the IFP would get the premiership of KZN in exchange for its support of an ANC president on a national level. Of course, the support of the National Freedom Party (NFP) was vital, but thankfully that fell into place, despite endless false rumours that the NFP had sided with the MK party.

Now the politicians will have to make it work. Of course, it was never going to be easy and, according to my sources, the DA in particular is already making things very difficult (as Helen Zille’s TV interview last week clearly signalled). 

I was often asked by international journalists if this election was as momentous as the general elections of 1994. Of course, it was not – nothing could ever be. Yet, there is a distinct “post-1994 feeling” to the new reality we are facing now. As in those heady days after the first democratic election, our politicians rose to the occasion and better angels prevailed.  

So, while the rest of us take a breath and get used to all the new faces in Parliament (including Carl Niehaus in his EFF red overalls and miner’s helmet), it is now up to the politicians to show to the world that, unlike so many other countries, we can again do the unexpected and make a success of this new dispensation. DM