RECALLING THE PRESIDENT
TIM COHEN: Ousting of Mbeki and Zuma points to weak executive in governing party
For the second time in succession the ANC has ousted a sitting president in the eighth year of his term, after being elected not once but twice as the party’s prospective presidential candidate by the South African voting public. Once the pleasure of seeing the passing of a corrupt president fades – for most people that happened weeks ago – there is food for thought in this historical echo. What does it mean? Does the dual, successive ousting point to some deeper problem in SA’s politics or its constitutional framework? Although the two undignified oustings have some features in common, it is notable how different they are in character, mood and context. The ousting of Thabo Mbeki took place in a context of economic prosperity. SA’s economic growth had not been as high as it was the year Mbeki was pushed out for perhaps four decades before, nor for a decade after. SA was posting budget surpluses, for heaven’s sake. In a sense, the economic boom might even have been part of Mbeki’s d...
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