Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

The MK Party is being touted as a rising force, the biggest party in KZN. But by-election results show that it is not nearly as popular as we are being told. None of this is new.  Media and pundits have been over estimating Jacob Zuma's support for years - just as they do to any politician or party which is seen as a threat by the middle class. This has nothing to do with evidence and everything to do with the fears of the middle class here.

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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.