Much has been made of the importance of unity in the ANC and the end of factionalism, which will reduce blood pressure.
But it became increasingly clear that this was a rather trivial undertaking. And not because of the uniqueness of the ANC, but because of the nature of politics – especially in this age of social media. It’s madness out there; there are too many soapboxes and sources aplenty for those of the conspiracy mindset.
Since the formation of the People’s Congress before the 2009 general election, the second (after Bantu Holomisa left the ANC to form the United Democratic Movement in 1997) and the most important split in the party was the member most loyal to the ousted Thabo Mbeki. left to form Cope, unity and ending factionalism has been the promise of the successors. This is a disingenuous attempt, because factionalism is a reality in every modern democracy on the planet.
Supposedly the key to manage it, especially when the party is in power, ensure that the state functions optimally despite competing forces through ideology, power and – cynically in the case – Louis Vuitton handbags.
The internal politics of the British Conservative Party is full of factionalism, which remained in check until the former prime minister in David Cameron decided to hold a referendum on the country’s membership in Europe in 2016. The division about the role of Britain in Europe probably goes back hundreds of years.
In the 19th century, British foreign policy in Europe was, quite simply, “good isolation”. This would become one of the main themes during Margaret Thatcher’s years in Number 10 – providing for her eventual dissolution.
But Cameron is very strong in the party, or so he thinks, and the country believes voters will follow his lead and vote to stay in the EU and consolidate his power by defeating factions in the party he has long distrusted. Europe.
Don’t be arrogant. If he had not fallen victim to the belief that he would undermine the faction against him and his former sidekick in George Osbourne, Cameron would not have considered the divisive referendum. They prefer to negotiate harder – or seek to appear to negotiate harder – with the EU and safeguard Britain’s economic future.
Today, Britain is out of Europe and in six years, the already stable democracy has seen four prime ministers. It’s starting to look like Italy. Across the Atlantic, factionalism is rampant in the US. This resulted in Hillary Clinton losing to Donald Trump because her Democratic Party could not unite behind her. Hit with the same misery, the Republican Party when I grew up knowing, one of Reagan and Bush, only no longer exists.
This is factionalism.
What is different from the story of South Africa is that the country is somehow still functioning – not optimal to admit, but the wheels are still oiled. Divisions in the ANC over the past 16 years have cut oil supplies to some of the country’s biggest companies such as Eskom.
A critical lesson in the ANC’s near 30-year rule is that we need to find policy measures to protect the country and its functioning from the unrest fueled by factionalism. It is something the ANC and the national executive committee have failed miserably to do.
What Ramaphosa needs to realize when he delivers his State of the Nation address is that no one silences his critics regardless of the path he chooses and it would be foolish to try to go all in, especially now. He must lead, even as factions snap at his heels. That’s just the animal of modern politics – worrying about factions has led us down the path of indecision, the worst outcome in this rapidly changing world. This is the obsession to build unity, thina ayisizizi ngalutho.