Tony Leon questions whether current ANC and DA leadership can deliver on their repeated promises while staying true to their ideological foundations in the government of national unity. Bar the fact that both Winston Churchill, who saved the world from Nazism, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, current ruler of Dubai, loved horse racing, there [...]
Join George Herald journalist Marguerite van Ginkel as she sits down with Tony Leon. Watch the full interview for a candid conversation filled with history, wisdom, and practical insights from one of South Africa’s most experienced political voices. https://youtu.be/nM6G6uhg8Dw
While President Ramaphosa touts G20 success and foreign policy achievements, he should keep in mind that voters overwhelmingly prioritise domestic economic concerns like jobs and corruption over international relations, writes Tony Leon. “There are few votes in foreign affairs,” was the response I received from a local politician. This, after I enquired why his party had [...]
Tony Leon argues that South Africa’s G20 summit was inflated as a historic diplomatic triumph when it was merely standard international theatre with vague aspirations. In July 1971, US National Security Advisor Dr Henry Kissinger undertook a top-secret visit to Beijing, breaking more than two decades of Cold War confrontation between America and China. It was [...]
A rare public speech by influential businessman Adrian Enthoven, in which he claims that South Africa has “turned the corner” after a decade of decline, has ignited fierce debate between optimists and sceptics warning that deeper political dysfunction still threatens any economic recovery, writes Tony Leon. The opposite of one compelling truth is not, as has [...]
From Reagan’s Hollywood charm to Nixon’s strategic depth, America’s most effective presidents surrounded themselves with brilliant advisors - a lesson Paul Mashatile, the likely next ANC president, would do well to heed as his party’s grip on national power continues to weaken, writes Tony Leon. Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, who served [...]
Not since August 1971, when US President Richard Nixon permanently ended the “gold standard” – the last formal link between the precious nugget and major currencies – has the yellow metal enjoyed such prominence. Today it’s in the news again as the spot price of gold recently hit a record high: $ 4 300 per [...]
As the UK’s Conservative Party faces potential extinction after 200 years of dominance and South Africa’s ANC struggles with similar decline, Tony Leon argues that the era of “natural parties of government” is over, replaced by voter disillusionment that demands the kind of decisive, conviction-based leadership exemplified by Margaret Thatcher rather than today’s consensus-seeking politicians. Today, here [...]
From the R2 billion Tembisa Hospital looting spree to punitive racial quotas that could bankrupt retailers, the government continues to simultaneously rely on business to fix state failures while treating the private sector as an enemy of the people, argues Tony Leon. About a decade ago, I addressed a group of business leaders in Durban [...]
In a rare moment of political honesty that sent shockwaves through the ANC, President Cyril Ramaphosa told his councillors to learn from DA municipalities - only to quickly retreat when the uncomfortable truth about his party’s failures sparked internal fury and opposition glee, writes Tony Leon There is evidence to suggest that most South Africans believe the [...]
