Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

Next year's election, we are told, will bring more change than any since 1994 because it is the first in which the ANC is not guaranteed a majority. It is true that the drop in ANC support has opened up opportunities for new voices and should make it easier for citizens to get government to do what they want. But the election may change much less than we are being told because no party has yet emerged which can replace the ANC as the choice of most voters and citizens are not using the opportunities created by this new reality.  

This is the view of my weekly Against the Tide column sent to subscribers this morning. To read it, visit the Against the Tide website and subscribe. If you can't afford a subscription, contacts us at info@againstthetide.co.za to request a reduced or free subscription.

Steven Friedman is a public commentator and an academic, currently employed as a Research Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He has been writing on South African politics for the entire democratic period both as a scholar and public commentator. He has published books on South Africa’s transition to democracy, the role of the trade union movement, and current South African politics. He has also written columns and articles for several South African newspapers. His writing seeks to use academic research to shed light on current politics but to ensure that this is conveyed in a way easily understood by people who have no academic training.