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Misanet.com / IPS, 29 October - Political and racial divisions have led to South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), splitting - leaving the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in a stronger position in the country. The DA is made up of two main parties, the New National Party (NNP) and the Democratic Party (DP) - both of which draw their support mainly from South Africa's minority communities. Explaining why his party had decided to leave the alliance, NNP leader, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, says: "It is the last chance people of the White, Coloured (Mixed Race) and Indian community will have to change their status. It is a self-imposed status, of being a foreigner in a country that also belongs to them." Van Schalkwyk adds: "It's clear that the future of the opposition is not to the right of the ANC, but to the left of the ANC. That is where it is growing. That is why the DA is on the road to nowhere." He accused the leader of the DP and his former alliance partner, Tony Leon, of wanting to demonise the ANC and its supporters - the overwhelming majority of Black South Africans. While no details are available as yet, it appears that the NNP and the ANC are looking at forming some kind of coalition. A coalition between the ANC and the NNP could see South Africa's ruling party become part of the executive council of the Western Cape - the one out of nine South African provinces where it is not part of the provincial administration. NNP and DP alliance - which is only about 16 months old -- was only able to win control of the Western Cape provincial government and one major city in South Africa, Cape Town. This is mainly because in the Western Cape and Cape Town, Coloureds and Whites make-up the majority of the population. The ANC has substantial support among these communities - and won the largest number of votes of all the parties contesting the province in the last general election.
However, by combining the votes won by the NNP and the DP, the opposition alliance was able to garner enough support to allow it to form the provincial administration - and exclude the ANC from the executive. The DA also became the official opposition in the Parliament. The split means the NNP and DP alliance will lose control of the provincial and city government. There is also concern among local government councillors, who were elected on a DA ticket, that they may lose their seats if the alliance splits. In terms of the South African legislation, councillors who are elected on a party ticket, lose their seats if they change parties. However, the government is considering a change to the legislation that will allow councillors to keep their seats, even if their party falls apart. In his reaction to the NNP move, Leon slammed Van Schalkwyk and the NNP. "I note with contempt the decision by the NNP to break the DA and open discussions to become part of ANC government at every level." - I want to make it clear that honourable people within the NNP are welcome to join us in our mission to provide South Africa with a principled opposition and alternative to the ANC, he says. "A number of public representatives from the NNP have already indicated that they are prepared to remain loyal to the voters and to the DA." The NNP and DP alliance has been an awkward union from the start. While the DP is home to predominantly white liberals, the NNP has Afrikaners and Coloureds as its primary constituency. Van Schalkwyk sees the NNP re-inventing itself as a Christian-Democratic party.
The split was sparked by the DP's efforts to get rid of the mayor of Cape Town, Peter Marais, who they considered a political embarrassment, who stumbled from one controversy to the next. The NNP backed Marais because he is seen as a draw-card for their constituency. The showdown over Marais quickly degenerated into a slinging match between the NNP and the DP - which split the opposition. Despite Leon's determination to go-ahead as the political opposition, analysts warn that without a strong party to represent them, minority groups may withdraw from political life - leaving minority parties with even less support. However, the ANC has recently launched a campaign to attract minorities into the organisation - and the collapse of the DA may spur more of them to look for a home in South Africa's ruling party. By Anthony Stoppard, IPS
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