Ramaphosa kicks can down the road with ‘government of national unity’ play

South Africans are clear on the coalition they would prefer to rule the country, the first opinion poll on the matter since last week’s election shows.

More than 40% surveyed said they would back an ANC-DA coalition, possibly including other members of the Multi-Party Charter such as the IFP and FF+.

Only 19.5% supported an ANC-MK Party coalition, while far fewer — 9.5% — supported an ANC-EFF coalition. Just under 6% favoured an ANC minority government.



The poll conducted within a week of the 29 May election which saw ANC support fall to 40.2% was based on telephonic interviews with a sample of 1,000 South Africans, using the same methodology of The Brenthurst Foundation’s pre-election polls which have proven accurate.

But President Cyril Ramaphosa has for the moment dodged choosing a coalition partner by proposing a “government of national unity” (GNU) which conceivably could include parties that have diametrically opposed views on all major policy issues.

Ramaphosa said he was making the proposal because, “We are at a moment of fundamental consequence. We must act with speed to safeguard national unity, peace, stability, inclusive economic growth, non-racialism and non-sexism. We will invite political parties to form a government of national unity.” 

He mentioned “constructive discussions” with the EFF, IFP, DA, NFP and PA.

What he did not mention is that some of these parties hold radically different views on the Constitution, the rule of law and sound fiscal management.

The reality is that, despite the President’s predilection to kick the can down the road, the ANC faces a stark choice: Reinforce the pro-Constitution centre that wants to see sound economic management and inclusive growth or pivot to the populist left that wants the constitutional order upended and the introduction of radical economic policies.

For the country, the choice — and the outcome — is fundamental. It will determine South Africa’s trajectory for years to come, affecting the strength of independent institutions and thereby the rule of law and investment.

But there is one small problem: It requires Ramaphosa to make a serious and defining choice, something which he has avoided doing so far, with disastrous effect, during his presidency. As he selects membership of a GNU, now is his moment to place himself on the right side of history, on that which aligns with the document — the Constitution — for which he was partly responsible. 

This moment is not about appointing committees, task teams or working groups, it is not even about “consulting broadly” within the party where all manner of interests, including the preservation of 30 years of rents, are simmering.

It is first and foremost a moment that requires leadership: Looking up to the horizon, beyond the party bubble and placing the country’s interests ahead of the party’s. This is the view that some other parties have already taken.

The DA, which could happily sit on the sidelines and amass political capital as a GNU coalition stumbles from one corruption scandal to the next, and from one governance mishap to another, has said it is ready to enter an arrangement that would protect the country against populism.

Julius Malema’s EFF is willing to enter a coalition, albeit for very different reasons. It wants to advance a populist redistributive agenda which will no doubt offer plenty of opportunities for its Champagne-loving leaders to improve their bank balances.

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‘Counter-revolution’