GARETH VAN ONSELEN: How Zuma destroys political relationships
Jacob Zuma’s recent cabinet reshuffle, his eleventh in nine years, once again brings a number of factors into stark relief. Pre-eminent of these is the volatile nature of his leadership. He essentially governs through chaos, using uncertainty and distrust to augment his control. Inherent to that is another important Zuma characteristic: his inability to maintain relationships, both in general and specific terms. Generally, it is hard for any leader to maintain a wide range of healthy, productive long-term relationships. And it only gets harder with time, as your political capital erodes and your vision necessitates hard choices. These grand forces tend to divide rather than unify political opinion and companionship. But with specific regard to key confidants and allies, it is perfectly possible — one may even say essential — for a leader to foster and engender trust, respect and support among those people key to managing power and the mechanisms that give it practical effect.The axi...
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