Parties should unite to bring change

When Europe was being overrun by the German war machine, European countries couldn’t take on the might of Nazi Germany on their own but had to unite to defeat the Nazi dictator. The Allies even had help from the U.S. and other countries around the world.

The same scenario happened in South Africa during apartheid. The liberation forces united to form the United Democratic Movement and, with overseas support, toppled the Afrikaner regime. Now three decades later, the country is faced with a similar problem, with the abuse of power by the very party which played a major role in the liberation struggle. Thirty years of ANC rule has proved to be a dismal failure and the cries for its removal get louder and louder by the day.

But how do you defeat the ANC when you have a weak, ineffective opposition? The official opposition, the DA, has posed no serious threat to the dominance of the ANC. Ever since it became the official opposition it has failed to increase its support among the black electorate and has been languishing far behind the ANC.

As for the rest, there are numerous smaller parties, some even one-person parties, all trying desperately to get to the feeding trough. Like puppy dogs they yelp and snap at the heels of the ANC but it is all in vain. Once in Parliament, many will just fold their arms and go to sleep on the well–padded seats.

There are an incredible 70 parties contesting the national elections on May 29. I doubt well-established democracies like Italy, France, Britain and the U.S. with their larger populations have as many parties as us contesting their elections. In Britain you hear of the Tories and Labour, and in the U.S .it is only the Democrats and the Republicans.

A weak and splintered opposition is an advantage to the ANC. Even though political analysts are predicting a substantial drop in support for the ANC, none of the smaller parties will pose any serious challenge to the ANC, except, perhaps, Jacob Zuma’s MKP.

In the worst-case scenario where the ANC loses its majority in Parliament, it can go on a horse-trading campaign. All it has to do is dangle some juicy carrots in front of the smaller parties and entice them to form a coalition with it and it can still govern the country.

It is for this reason that the smaller parties should have set aside their difference and formed a united front to defeat the ANC.

If they are people of moral integrity and care for the country, this should be their priority.

But sadly, such a noble thing is not in their blood.