STEVEN FRIEDMAN: Opposition claims victory in the Zuma vote. In fact, for them it was a disaster
IF this is a win for constitutional democracy, it is hard to imagine how a defeat would look. Opposition parties have hailed the eighth defeated motion of no confidence in Jacob Zuma as a victory because about three dozen ANC MPs supported it or abstained. The vote was also hailed by several voices as a victory for democracy. The evidence tells another story. The only opposition party which may have the right to claim victory of a sort is the DA and, if there was a winner, it was certainly not democracy. A dangerous feature of our politics is a constant failure to hold to account politicians who are on the right side of the prevailing consensus. This allows them to make promises they do not keep without losing any credibility. Both the EFF’s Julius Malema and the UDM’s Bantu Holomisa predicted that, if a no-confidence vote was held in secret, it would win. Both were wrong and have no credibility now when they claim ANC support exceeded their expectations. The DA did not predict vict...
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