The trajectory may not follow a straight upward angle, but generally speaking, the course of South African politics from now to the elections will generally increase in intensity on a near weekly basis. How that intensity manifests itself will make all the difference. It is one thing for parties to jockey for position. It is quite another for the divisions to erupt in violence between party supporters. South African politics are always intense. But as the ANC has pointed out, the seeming increase in political intolerance is unnacceptable. Of course the ANC (and its agents — notably the ANC Youth League, COSATU, and their ilk) is as responsible for the tone of the current debate as anyone, not to mention for some violence of its own, so the words of lamentation ring somewhat hollow.
Meanwhile the Congress of the People (COPE) and its supporters, including Allen Boesak, continue to assert that the party plans to be a force in the upcoming elections. And the party may well make a large mark when the national election rolls around. But in by-elections held in the Eastern Cape, the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Northern Cape last week the ANC took 23 of 27 available seats while COPE took but two wards, and the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Independent Democrats (ID) took one each. Whatever impact COPE expects to have, for now all signs indicate that the ANC continues to stand atop South African politics.
