Let’s face it: a government of national unity (GNU) is an uncomfortable reality for both the ANC and the DA as its largest constituents.
It is far from ideal, but there is broad agreement that it is SA’s “best chance”. Power, and absolute power, is the goal in politics — it is what the ANC enjoyed for three decades. It is what the DA has aspired to outside the Western Cape for just as long.
But this safe zone of outright majorities was far from the mind of the electorate when votes were cast on May 29. The result delivered a stark message: that the electorate no longer trusts the ANC with unfettered power, but it does not trust a single opposition party either.
For a huge number of South Africans — about 22-million, according to a calculation by the ANC at its national executive committee (NEC) meeting this week — no party on the ballot was worthy of their vote.
The GNU, wholly endorsed by the ANC NEC this week, is in many ways the last shot for the party whose erosion of electoral support began slowly in 2014, and hit high gear in this election.
It also presents both an opportunity and a risk for the DA, which is why its federal council chair Helen Zille has been muddying the waters by describing it as a coalition between the DA and the ANC instead of a GNU in an interview with 702’s Clement Manyathela.
ANC insiders who were privy to the negotiations between the parties said Zille was opposed to the GNU from the outset and initially favoured an arrangement where the ANC controlled the executive and the DA controlled parliament.
The ANC refused this and sections of the DA, led by its leader John Steenhuisen, were more amenable to an arrangement where the DA had a role to play in government — and saw this as a rare opportunity to step into that role.
A second option was a grand coalition between the ANC, the DA and the IFP — a move which would have been a tough sell to the erstwhile governing party’s core constituency.
The ANC had three meetings with the EFF and one with former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party for their inclusion in the GNU, but they both set terms that were impossible to meet. Both parties excluded themselves, which was a boon for the ANC, says an ANC insider.
“In our core support base, both MK and the EFF pose a serious threat. It would have been easy to confuse our supporters had they agreed to form part of the GNU. We saw it in Ekurhuleni with the EFF,” an ANC NEC member told Business Day. “A strong outcome from the ANC NEC meeting was a commitment to making the GNU work. We want it to last, we want it to succeed. We believe it gives SA the best chance and maybe the last chance.”
The Zille factor is an outward irritation, party insiders admit, but it is more background noise than material to its success or failure. Besides, say insiders, “big business would punish the DA if it pulls out”. Business played a role in the talks, too.
Opposition to it also emerged from the ANC’s ally, the SACP, through its general secretary Solly Mapaila. However, the SACP’s official position was that it was not opposed to the GNU which included the DA but was “critical” of it.
It is understood that Mapaila’s critique of the ANC for including the DA and not the EFF was his own personal view, which puzzled many in the SACP. It is understood he was called out on it in an SACP meeting by his deputy, Madala Masuku.
The GNU appears to be here to stay. It is likely to survive Zille’s and even the ANC alliance’s outbursts, mainly because the alternative for the DA is stagnation and for the ANC it is an outright loss and political obscurity.
This is not to say there are no future risks; one such looming risk is the ANC’s 2027 succession race and its outcome. It could change the coalition game in SA, and not for the better.
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