It’s tempting to focus on the ANC as if its history and prospects are a proxy for the history and prospects of the country as a whole. The party’s centenary celebrations this week will strengthen the sense that this is indeed the case. The last hundred years of South African history has been about theContinue reading “The ANC as a proxy for the nation?”
Category Archives: African National Congress
Going into the dark
The previous post was headlined “The ANC’s surprising return to form” and it stayed as the face of this website throughout a week in which we were reminded of the nest of corruption our president emerged from. … oh yes, and a week when the ANC in parliament passed the Protection of Information Bill –Continue reading “Going into the dark”
The ANC’s surprising return to form
Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis will have noticed two things. The first is that the number of posts have tailed off. This is largely because my time has been taken up with paid work and the website has slipped down the list of priorities in the imperative to pay the bills.Continue reading “The ANC’s surprising return to form”
Zuma was to Polokwane what Malema hopes to be to Mangaung
Doesn’t the Julius Malema saga feel so familiar? Remember how the Jacob Zuma campaign seemed to transform each new obstacle placed in his path into fuel for his political train that eventually steamed triumphant into Polokwane in December 2007? The fact that he was known far and wide as hopelessly incapable of moderating his sexualContinue reading “Zuma was to Polokwane what Malema hopes to be to Mangaung”
Beat the dog till the owner comes out
Tokyo comes out to defend Julius Malema in the disciplinary hearing? To be followed by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Tony Yengeni? It is an almost too perfect reversal of Julius Malema’s own metaphor after his victory at the Eastern Cape provincial conference of the ANC Youth League in August 2010: “We will never surrender to Blade.Continue reading “Beat the dog till the owner comes out”
China’s my ANC*
The Arch live on national television on Sunday night was full of his old and delightful twinkly theatricality. “Watch out ANC government, watch out!” My own view is he has every right to his anger and he expressed it with aplomb (and I am deliberately leaving aside placing the Dalai Lama anywhere on the continuumContinue reading “China’s my ANC*”
Game of Thrones in the ANC
A good friend of mine in New York* recently put me on to “A Song of Ice and Fire” – a seemingly endless series of swords and sorcery novels by George R R Martin. This is the crack cocaine of fantasy fiction but it is also a surprisingly brilliant study of politics and power vacuums.Continue reading “Game of Thrones in the ANC”
Nationalisation revisited revisited … if you know what I mean
In case anyone was wondering if I had disappeared into the ether: I have been seriously busy and have had no time to post on the blog. If you were paying extra attention, you may have noticed that a post reviewing the nationalisation of mines debate appeared and disappeared a few weeks ago. My mistakeContinue reading “Nationalisation revisited revisited … if you know what I mean”
Julius Malema and predicting the future you want
The déjà vu is washing over me like the phantom symptoms of a late winter bout of hypochondria. I remember the lead-up to Polokwane. The thuggish crowds outside Jacob Zuma’s court appearances. The man we had known was in Shaik’s pockets since 1993, he who famously couldn’t keep it in his pants, the rape accusedContinue reading “Julius Malema and predicting the future you want”
Malema agenda in retreat
I am back from my travels where I spent much time discussing the ANC Youth League’s “nationalisation of mines” call with investors. The long and the short of my views are that I don’t think the ANC will decide to nationalise the mines at its December 2012 elective conference in Mangaung. I do, however, thinkContinue reading “Malema agenda in retreat”
Happy Birthday Mister President ….
I’m still in the USA, but for those who might have missed it (40 minutes ago), here is the ANC Youth League’s “happy birthday” message to their new favourite ANC leader. I will leave the statement in full below, not because I am a news wire service for the Youth League, but because clearly theyContinue reading “Happy Birthday Mister President ….”
Oh no – not succession again so soon?
It is 17 months still until the ANC votes on its future leaders and over 3 years before those leaders are elected/re-elected to government. That seems like an extraordinarily long lead time to fight that particular battle. One would have hoped our leaders would have more pressing concerns …. but anyway. Cosatu is meeting fromContinue reading “Oh no – not succession again so soon?”
African National Congress – under history’s flood
Following a previous post: The Limits of Politics I want to argue that what the ANC is becoming is less a function of the failings of its leadership and more a consequence of the titanic forces of social change. The past and present history of the African National Congress could be characterised (in shorthand) likeContinue reading “African National Congress – under history’s flood”
The communists have got this right
Here’s something important to read and understand. From a South African Communist Party Central Committee statement released today – I just caught it on Politicsweb here. You can disagree with the communists about a range of points of strategy and of principle, but they accurately and urgently identify populism as exemplified by the ANC YouthContinue reading “The communists have got this right”
The limits of politics
I think both the DA and the ANC might be on the verge of an evolutionary spurt that will change what they are and thus see them shifting into new ecological niches in our political landscape. I also think that the landscape itself changes much slower than we think or hope. Voluntarism is a termContinue reading “The limits of politics”
Nic Borain 