South Africa returns to a government of national unity, 30 years after a similar agreement helped stabilize the transition to full democracy for a nation divided by the racist system of apartheid.
This time, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) was forced to negotiate a deal after losing its dominant majority in the elections.
It marks a landmark moment for the country, with the confirmation that the ANC’s new partners include the white-led Democratic Alliance – a pairing once considered unimaginable by many in South Africa.
The main opposition party, DA, grew from a union of groups that included what remained of the apartheid-era ruling National Party, and is an advocate of free market economics in conflict with the left-wing traditions of the ANC. .
It is still possible that dissident ANC parties that did not join the unity government could try to influence events from abroad, but the agreement shaped South Africa’s political future when its new parliament convened on Friday for the first time since last month’s historic elections.
“Today, 14 June 2024 will go down in the annals of history as the beginning of a new chapter for our beloved country,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen in a statement delivered in Cape Town, where parliament sat gathered.
More details, including the breakdown of cabinet positions, are expected to emerge in the coming days. But this is not an alliance of national unity like the one negotiated by Nelson Mandela in 1994.
At that time, the ANC overcame the divide from a position of strength. Now it is doing so from a position of political necessity.
The composition is similar. Thirty years ago, the ANC joined forces with the National Party that governed during apartheid and the Zulu nationalist Inkhata Freedom Party (IFP).
The IFP has now confirmed it is back on board, along with the smaller Patriotic Alliance, meaning Cyril Ramaphosa will enjoy another term as president.
But “this is not a government of national unity,” says TK Pooe of the School of Government at Wits University in Johannesburg.
“It’s just camouflage so that people don’t have to admit that it’s a grand coalition.”
This is because it does not include the parties that came third and fourth in the elections – the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party of former president Jacob Zuma and the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), who are popular among young urban blacks.
Few doubt that negotiations since the May 29 elections have been difficult.
Many in South Africa are now asking themselves a simple question – will it work?
Fikilie Mbalula, secretary-general of the ANC, stressed that “gravitating towards the center” was the best response to a message from voters, who wanted the parties to work together to bring stability to South Africa.
But political differences between the two main parties of the new coalition are sometimes sharp.
Perhaps the biggest and most controversial issues are the DA’s opposition to the ANC’s national health policy and its black economic empowerment program.
The prosecution accuses that affirmative action measures are inefficient, do not reward meritocracy and enrich the ANC’s cronies.
Derek Hanekom, who was a member of the ANC in South Africa’s original national unity government, believes the differences are sometimes exaggerated.
“If they say they really don’t like the legislation,” he told the BBC, “that doesn’t mean they don’t recognize the need for some kind of affirmative action, for some kind of redress – they do.”
“The parties are ready to make compromises and be flexible and, in the end, try to achieve consensus in decision-making.”
However difficult the compromise may be, the announcement of a coalition will bring a sense of relief to many investors and those in the private sector, who can look forward to a period of stability.
They were concerned about the radical left policies of the ANC’s most natural allies, the EFF and MK.
Both advocate the nationalization of land and property – with the aim of redistributing wealth to redress the racialized inequalities that remain entrenched despite the ANC’s early success in lifting millions of black people out of poverty.
The EFF rejected the idea of a national unity government that included the DA, and the MK rejects the constitution, meaning it did not meet the membership criteria. Not to mention the personal animosity between Zuma and the man who deposed him as president, Ramaphosa.
EFF leader Julius Malema said the party planned to remain on the opposition benches and would request key roles on oversight committees.
It is possible that one or both parties will make efforts to stop the process in the coming weeks and months.
MK made allegations of electoral fraud despite providing no evidence, attempting to block Friday’s parliamentary session through a legal effort rejected by the Constitutional Court.
For ANC supporters, another question is whether the liberation party is forced to soften its ideology to align with its new partners.
Addressing journalists on Thursday night, Mr Mbalula repeatedly stressed that a coalition did not mean the ANC had changed. “No party is going to die,” he said, “the ANC is not going anywhere.”
But some believe power-sharing poses a threat to the party – and could embolden its opponents outside the deal.
“If this grand coalition doesn’t work and dissatisfaction grows, it will only fuel the EFF and MK,” said Dr Pooe of Wits University. “But perhaps the key question is whether we see a new ANC.”
Mr Hanekom agrees that South Africa’s seventh parliament could be crucial for his party. “It all depends on what happens in the next few years,” he says.
“This could be the party people have been waiting for, the kind of leadership people have been waiting for.
Despite his optimism, for the ANC veteran the risks are high. “This is a second chance,” he says, “and we dare not fail. Otherwise, it will be the end of the ANC. And for the sake of our country, don’t you dare fail.”
“This could be a reset or a slow path to South Africa becoming a sad story,” Dr Pooe told the BBC.
“Their performance will show what it is. If it performs well, it’s a good reset. If it really doesn’t do anything, it will just be us who fumble our way into being a firmly established, struggling developing country.”
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