Forays to Taiwan and Israel show a willingness to put trade before the ANC’s outdated political solidarity, writes Tony Leon
Tshwane DA mayor Solly Msimanga brought out the dragon in the pro-Sino ANC with his recent jaunt to the Middle Kingdom’s enemy Taiwan. No doubt, this week new heights of apoplexy will be scaled in governing […]
What is it about sport that provides so many cautionary tales for life generally and politics in particular?
Such an irreverent thought fleetingly occurred to me as I half-watched the ANC’s 105th birthday bash at Orlando Stadium on Sunday.
Perhaps it was the venue itself: like the organisation it hosted, pretty ancient and somewhat modest in size […]
Citizens have voted out well-entrenched leaders in a democratic surge in part of the continent, writes Tony Leon
To update Pliny the Elder’s well-worn phrase in my imperfect schoolboy Latin, perhaps it is now apt to write Ex Africa Occidens aliquid novi — Out of West Africa always something new. This modernisation is due to two […]
LAST Friday, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the signing of South Africa‘s constitution, I was, physically and metaphorically confronted by a version of my much younger self. The view was not entirely reassuring.
The event was a reunion, of sorts, in Cape Town: former staff members of the Constitutional Assembly — the South […]
Tony Leon finds parallels in literature ranging from Superman to Tacitus to ‘Catch-22’ for the plight of the president and his party.
Several notables are cited as originators of the famous formula, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”
Among the claimants is Joseph Heller, author of the iconic 20th-century satirical novel Catch-22.
Proof positive […]
Fearful kakophony drowns business voice, writes Tony Leon.
‘Who do I call when I want to speak to Europe?” Apparently, Henry Kissinger never uttered this great quip attributed to him, on the impossibility of receiving a coherent and unified response from the EU.
But the line is useful shorthand right now, with local substitution, to frame the […]
On Zuma’s watch, growth has halved, the national debt has doubled and another million are unemployed
THERE‘S a grim choice confronting the US electorate in November between the two most unpopular candidates in polling history. This caused Harvard history professor Niall Ferguson — one of the most erudite and eloquent people on the planet — on […]
Hy bly optimisties oor Suid-Afrika se toekoms ondanks die kruispunt van krisisse waar die land hom tans bevind, het Tony Leon Woensdagaand in ’n toespraak voor die Britse parlement se Henry Jackson-vereniging gesê.
Suid-Afrika het presies 22 jaar gelede sy rug op 350 jaar van rasseverdeling, uitbuiting, onderdrukking en ystervuis-regering gedraai. In 1994 het die land […]
The ideologically ramshackle coalition that gathered as the “People’s Consultative Assembly” last weekend at various centres showcased a veritable fruit salad of ideas and personalities.
Ranging from a retired judge to an avant-garde film director and a supporting cast of politicians, they were united by one galvanising idea: removing Jacob Zuma from the presidency.
A petri dish […]
I will, doubtless, not add longevity to the political shelf-life of Deputy Public Works Minister Jeremy Cronin by expressing admiration for his bravery and eloquence. His marooning in the obscurity of a deputy ministry hardly matches his talents and struggle credentials. But the real wonder of it is that he holds any executive office at […]
