Dear Editor,
A power-sharing deal involving the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other smaller parties has been struck. This is indeed historic given the ideological differences between the ANC and the centre-right Democratic Alliance. This power-sharing arrangement became necessary after the ANC for the first time failed to obtain a majority in parliament.
The fact that the ANC was forced into a coalition with the mainly White-dominated Democratic Alliance is indicative of the changing political dynamics in South Africa. Interestingly, the two splinter parties which broke away from the ANC refused to enter a coalition with the ANC.
Politics, it is said, is the art of making deals. This saying has found expression in the formation of a national unity government which will see the incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa retaining the Presidency with a significant executive role for the former political adversary the Democratic Alliance.
It is interesting to see how this unity government will play out in the ensuing period. This is indeed a calculated risk taken by both parties, even as it holds out promise of a new chapter in South African politics which hopefully could rise above the confines of race and partisan politics.
Sincerely,
Hydar Ally
