Coalition games: Snakes and ladders
Coalition politics entered the public lexicon after the 2016 local government elections, when several metros had to be governed by political parties in coalition agreements after parties failed to achieve a majority.
This way of governing became entrenched after the 2021 elections as more municipalities had to put coalition governments in place.
It has been a rocky ride for some metros like Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Nelson Mandela, with political parties putting themselves and not residents first and embarking on a motion of no confidence merry-go-round.
This has resulted in a constant stream of mayors, which is not always conducive to stability.
Concerns of what lay ahead for the national government have come to the fore when it became clear the ANC is unlikely to maintain its majority - which means we will most likely have a coalition government in place in the Union Buildings come 2024.
For those of us who have had to deal with the revolving door of mayorship every few months, the idea of going through a similar experience at national level is not something we relish.
In fact, we would prefer that political parties manage to find a solution ahead of that catastrophe.
Assistant editor of politics and opinions Qaanitah Hunter writes in this week's Friday Briefing it looked like political parties were on the right track to figuring out the way forward during last weekend's coalition national dialogue.
By all accounts the multiparty talks had the makings of a renewed Codesa. That was until some missteps were made along the way. Hunter examines where that leaves us now.
DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube details proposals her party has put on the table to ensure stability within coalition agreements. However for this to be passed the bills need the backing of the ANC.
We also have a submission from GOOD's Brett Herron, who explains why his party is against an electoral threshold put forward by the ANC and DA.
ActionSA's Michael Beaumont reflects on a recent column written by News24's editor-in-chief, Adriaan Basson, giving his view on why an ANC/DA coalition is not a good idea.
Finally, University of Johannesburg's Professor Siphamandla Zondi explains why political parties leave their ideological lines by the wayside in favour of pragmatic and strategic power considerations and what that means for 2024.
Hope this week's edition gives you some food for thought ahead of the DA's moonshot pact next week.
Best,
Vanessa Banton
Opinions editor.
Don't expect Codesa-like movements, or results, out of coalition talks
After attending last weekend's coalition dialogue. Qaanitah Hunter came to the conclusion that no party is willing to take responsibility and commit to doing things better in the interim. Nor, she writes, is any party willing to push the discussions further.
SA needs political leaders that will rise to the occasion
The ANC finds itself in a predicament. While it supports legislative interventions to stabilise coalition governments it cannot bring themselves to support opposition-sponsored legislation, writes Siviwe Gwarube.
Electoral thresholds will lead to absurd and unconstitutional outcomes
Introducing an arbitrary legislated threshold when our Constitution and electoral system already have a natural threshold, will lead to absurd and unconstitutional outcomes, argues Brett Herron.
A grand ANC/DA coalition in South Africa is delusional, Mr Basson
Neither the DA nor the EFF in a coalition will be able to dictate to the ANC how a government will be run. The ANC's policies, protocols and processes are now inextricably that of the government, argues Michael Beaumont.
Elastic ideology defines our coalition politics
Pragmatic and strategic power considerations are the new elastic ideologies that the old left-right ideological lines, writes Siphamandla Zondi.
