This week the seismic tremors measured north of nine on the political Richter scale as the once impregnable ANC found itself under a heap of rubble with one citadel after another falling to its opponents. Still, even after the tectonic plates shifted so decisively under the giant’s feet, there were some upsides for the country’s [...]
Over 30 years ago when I first arrived in parliament, an old ward heeler who knew his way around there advised newcomer MPs: “The first law of politics is to be present.” Spare a thought then for Refiloe Nts’ekhe. She had been presented in the election as the DA mayoral candidate for Ekurheleni. But at [...]
FW de Klerk’s death last week saw an explosion of commentary, with gazillions of electrons and acres of newsprint exhausted on his contested legacy. It all traces back to one fateful day nearly 32 years ago. At about 1pm on Friday, February 2 1990, then co-leader of the now-vanished Democratic Party (DP) Wynand Malan hosted [...]
FW de Klerk shaped many of the country's recent political contours. Yet like the proverbial prophet, by November 2019 on the afternoon of our last get-together, he enjoyed little honour in his own land. On the one hand, he was reviled by the governing party for being the "last apartheid president". He was also, to [...]
Alongside the fading light of Eskom, the refulgent blaze of the ANC’s electoral comet shines far less brightly since last Monday. That, at least, is the one takeaway from the outcome of the local polls of 2021. In ancient Rome, the Etruscans were highly regarded for their ability for reading “auspices”, like blazing comets, and discerning [...]
