STEVEN FRIEDMAN: More competitive politics means wise parties will listen to what voters want
Citizen groups should be finding ways to guide coalition partners and build majorities among councillors so they can shape local government
South Africans have more power now than at any time in our history. But we have no idea how to make this work for us. The two biggest political parties have coalitions on their minds. The ANC launched its governance document at the weekend, in which it talks about the need to become more strategic about coalitions. DA leader Mmusi Maimane told a meeting that the country would be "rescued" by coalitions. This reflects the way party politics has shifted since 2016’s local elections. Half the country’s metropolitan areas are now governed by coalitions or minority parties, and the 2019 national election could produce the first coalition government since SA became a democracy. This new reality gives citizens huge power over what government does. Common sense — and research — tells us that the more parties must compete for citizens’ votes, the more powerful the people are. Here, it seemed inevitable for years that the ANC would win the townships, shack settlements and the national governm...
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