Is a McCain-Biden moment possible for the Bay?

It was a rare moment in American politics.

Stepping up to the podium, “My name is Joe Biden” is how the former vice-president and long-serving senator introduced himself.

It generated a murmur of laughter from the crowd.

“I’m a Democrat,” were his next words, which drew even louder laughter. “And I loved John McCain ...”

Silence descended on the mourners. For a brief moment, the world connected with a man grieving the loss of his dear friend.

Friendship broke through the toxic and polarised political cloud hanging over the US.

Senator John McCain had recently gained a renewed respect on the US scene both for his battle against brain cancer and for his lonely stand as a Republican against the cancer of President Donald Trump’s populism.

Considered by many as a hero for his surviving internment in a POW camp in Vietnam, McCain gained global attention in his 2008 concession speech to then senator Barack Obama.

Regularly quietening the crowd booing at mention of Obama’s name, he emphasised “whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans ... I wish God speed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my President.”

There are many who viewed the senator as a warmonger for his call and support of US military interventions.

Many blame the man for creating the platform for then governor Sarah Palin – thereby breaking ground for Trump’s eventual “make America great again” anti-establishment campaign.

But there are not many who would begrudge Biden the opportunity to honour his friend.

But Biden sought to do more in the eulogy for his friend and political opponent.

Echoing the sentiment of McCain’s concession speech 10 years before, Biden spoke about the promise of America; that he believed “that there is not a single thing beyond the capacity of this country” and how McCain’s own conviction and faith in his country made average Americans proud of themselves and their country.

Biden, in burying his friend, sought to use the “aha” moment of our mortality to resurrect America’s self-belief.

Funerals have that ability to get us to transcend the immediacy of our lives, to contemplate the trajectory of life and to reassess what we hold dear.

The US is not alone in the political wilderness in which it finds itself.

In many ways it follows in our own slipstream.

Initially buoyed up by former president Nelson Mandela’s character, values and statesmanship and Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s “rainbow nation” vision, that self-belief and confidence in the nation – in ourselves – has seemingly evaporated.

Twenty-four years later we believe that every politician is corrupt and the notion of “united in diversity” is shipwrecked on the harsh shores of inequality, poverty and unemployment.

We, too, no longer believe in the promise of SA or in the promise of Nelson Mandela Bay. Instead, political expediency is our preferred means to right the wrongs of centuries of racial indignity.

On Monday August 27, the ANC-led coalition finally succeeded (after numerous previous unsuccessful attempts) in garnering enough votes to oust Jonathan Lawack as speaker.

And then (under contested circumstances) subsequently passed a motion of no confidence in then mayor Athol Trollip and installed his nemesis, Mongameli Bobani, of the UDM, as the new mayor.

The sentiment was clear: what goes round comes round; we are not beholden to the DA “whiteness” and we do not consider “them” to be a legitimate part of the political process.

The legitimacy of the new mayor will now be tested in the courts.

If found wanting, it’s entirely likely that reincarnated mayor Trollip will have a turn at gleefully bouncing around in mayor’s Bobani’s vacated chair and then ex-mayor Bobani can have his turn standing at traffic lights asking people to hoot in their favour.

If the courts do not find in the DA’s favour, the one-seat voting margin in council will ensure a series of reverse motions of no confidence.

We have another three years to go before the next local government election.

There is plenty of time left on the clock for all kinds of further drama.

But in the end, who wins? Is there any citizen of the city who, in assessing the current environment, believes a friendship of the McCain-Biden nature could exist between our councillors?

Is there any person within the city confines who believes the political party he or she voted for is capable of putting political expediency aside in the interest of all citizens; of working with those from across the aisle?

It is within the rights of any political party, be it the DA, ANC, EFF, UDM or the Patriotic Alliance, to use the rules governing council to its advantage.

The ANC was always going to fight to regain political relevance post its losses in the 2016 elections. Every small party, whether it has one seat or six, can be expected to use its “kingmaker” status to further its own political agendas.

The DA in turn will not go quietly into the night.

It can be expected to use every legitimate means to regain its previous status. Every party has every right to contest decisions it believes are illegitimate, and every party is obligated to its constituents to further its political agendas.

It’s to be expected.

But something is rotten in the state of Nelson Mandela Bay and in the state of SA.

If our city doesn’t get its act together, tourists, investors and young people will look elsewhere and our Bay – with all its potential – will continue downwards in its death spiral.

Creating jobs, stimulating the economy, requires functional institutions.

We’ve lost sight of the city project we’re engaged in.

We, irrespective of which party we support, believe that only our agenda has merit and the only way to fulfil our mandate is to ensure that we have the majority.

It’s not the only way, but right now it seems it’s my way or the highway.