This Week in Politics
South African General Election
South Africans headed to the ballot box this week. After years of rampant crime, economic struggle, and rolling blackoutsthe ruling African National Congress (ANC) was seen as poised to lose its outright majority, which it has held since South Africa became a democracy since the end of apartheid. Moving toward the election the ANC tried to present itself as a fresh alternative with new policies and ideas. However, with roughly 97% of the votes counted it's clear that the strategydid not work. President Cyril Ramaphosa the leader of the ANC is facing coalition talks in which his party has fallen by nearly 17% since the last election in 2019. The ANC is hovering around 40%. The main opposition party the Democratic Alliance is expecting minor gains of about 22%, 1% more than in 2019. The reason behind the ANC's fall is not a particularly strong DA or liberal or right-wing force rather it derives from the new political party named uMkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) (MKP) headed by former ANC leader and South African president Jacob Zuma. The MKP is astoundingly near 15% of the vote share, explaining the fall of the ANC as the MKP's electorate seems to have simplyswitched parties. Otherwise, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are set to make losses of about 1%, winning 9% of the votes so far. Moreover, many smaller parties and independents will split the remaining votes.
Regionally the ANC remains ahead in 7 of the 9 South African election districts. The DA is holding on to its stronghold Western Cape with an outright majority of roughly 53%. The MKP as a new party is taking KwaZulu-Natal from the ruling ANC, winning a tremendous 46% with 99% of the votes counted in the region. This election simply reflects a changed South Africa with major problems and challenges for the future the public no longer believes the ANC is best set to face these questions alone. However, the leading question now is: how will a government take form and which parties will form a coalition?
Dick Schoof Set to be New Dutch Prime Minister
Dick Schoof, the former head of the Dutch spy agency and counter-terrorism office, is set to become the new Prime Minister for the Geert Wilders-dominated coalition. He will lead a diverse alliance including the right-wing to far-right PVV, right-wing NSC, and liberal VVD alongside the right-wing BBB. Mr Schoof himself was a member of the centre-left Labour Party until 2021, reflecting his political inclinations and raising the question of how a left-leaning PM can lead a right-wing government. The PM to be stated "For me this is a very intense moment, I never would have expected to be asked to stand here," speaking to reporters. It's rare for a non-party member to be elected for the top job in a country such as The Netherlands in which the electoral system makes such constellations near impossible.
The Prime Minister is elected by the parliament and, in turn, chosen by the voters. As with most developed democracies, the Dutch have political parties - many of them - that tend to coalesce around 1 of the party leaders of the side with a majority. Practically this means that the PM is not directly elected by the people but rather by the representatives elected by the voters, and as the representatives nearly always represent a party it's uncommon for them to not elected 1 of their own, in terms of coalition members
However, the unprecedented nature of the current Dutch political landscape required new experimental tactics. From 50% of the cabinet deriving from outside politics to a prime minister not representing any party, this coalition is different. Mr Wilders' PVV has changed the rules and so the others have followed. What happens next remains to be seen, however, Europe will be viewing the trial with suspense, and maybe others will adopt a similar strategy, or maybe not.
