OK, let's do our best to continue to make sense out of the news, noise, and nonsense emanating from all corners in South African politics. While some preach unity others call for insubordination, it is no wonder that so many of South Africa's great political minds worry about the fallout from the fast-approaching ANC meetings.
Perhaps indicative of just how tightly contested the leadership campaign is, almost all events seem to be viewed through the prism of politics with the overriding question being “who benefits?” (Or, perhaps as important, “who loses?”) The recent spate of power outages throughout South Africa? This is a delivery issue that is bad for the current power structure. Thabo Mbeki loses! A whole host of snafus in the voting processes, including concerns over whether delegates will be seated in Polokwane? Chaos is unpredictable. Stay tuned to see who wins! Jacob Zuma provides food for needy children? feeding the poor is popular. Zuma wins! One-time potential contender for the ANC crown, Tokyo Sexwale, endorses Jacob Zuma? Receiving endorsements from popular folks is good. Jacob Zuma wins! If it seems that Zuma is doing well and Mbeki is not, longtime observer of South African politics has one possible explanation: Thabo Mbeki has won the government, and in so doing he has lost the party.
One group that appears to be emerging as clear winners, as is usually the case in fraught political circumstances? Satirists. laugh, people. It's sometimes the only way to keep from crying.
