ANC to split into two today: A seismic event

Posted: October 8th, 2008 | By Ray Hartley | Posted in General
  • 2 Comments
  

THE ANC will today split into two parties today – one supporting Jacob Zuma and another supporting Mosiuoa Lekota, who resigned in protest at the firing of Thabo Mbeki from the presidency.
Lekota is set to make his announcement this morning. The million dollar question: What will the new party stand for and how will it distinguish itself from the ANC of Jacob Zuma?
This represents by far the largest schism in the history of the ANC as a large number of heavy-hitters are likely to migrate to the new party. Mbeki himself has remained aloof, but is likely to tacitly support the split, perhaps forcing Zuma to expell him, a move that would add to the notion that he is the victim of a witch-hunt by the Zuma camp.
This move will change South African politics in a fundamental way, bringing a real, legitimate, black-led challenge to the ANC into being for the first time. I have jokingly written that this new party could be all about money*. But perhaps it could seek to represent the growing black middle class which is threatened by the rise of the influence of the left – Cosatu and the SACP -in the ANC.

See also:
*Some free advice to those who want to start an ANC splinter party: Love something

Related posts:

  1. The million-dollar question: Will the ANC split?
  2. A giant step towards an ANC split
  3. Why an ANC splinter party won’t succeed
  4. ANC’s Mantashe on a possible party split
  5. One in four black South Africans support an ANC split

 

Comments

 

Aristides

October 8, 2008 at 9:38 am

Hooray. the first political sign that more and more Black South Africans are thinking further than their skin colour. Real progress whatever the outcome, politically. A mob is a mob, whatever its skin colour. Try reasoning with a group of soccer hooligans in London — you cannot. Equally, Malema and Co who seem to think that because a howling mob agrees with them, they are imbued with wisdom.

 

Njabulo

October 8, 2008 at 11:14 am

The press conference from Lekota was an unmitigated waste of time. There is an obvious lack of support for this so called “new party”. If there was, Lekota would have been announcing its name, platform and policy direction today. He had a choice, either form his party or fight within the ANC. He chose the cowardly middle ground. We are still no closer to knowing where he is going with this. What we know for sure is that Lekota has cheaply used the media platform granted to him by virtue of his soon to be history seniority within the ANC to attempt to galvanize support for himself and a few “number not certain” members of the ANC. We see right through you Mr. Lekota.

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