STEVEN FRIEDMAN: The futile charge of the vote-them-out brigade
More black voters are complaining about the ANC, but just want to send it a message
It has become common on social media and radio for angry voters to declare that they are intent on voting the ANC out of office. It is a sign of shifts in politics here that the callers are black voters, not people in the racial minorities who have always distrusted the ANC. What they never say is with whom they plan to replace the governing party. The reason is surely that there is no credible answer. This sounds like a campaign ad, designed to show that the ANC may be flawed but is better than all the alternatives. It isn’t. It is a reminder of political reality, which seems to melt away as soon as election season begins. In the 2016 local elections, the worst yet for the ANC, the DA achieved under 25%, still short of the 30% it targeted years ago. The EFF polled 8%. The DA, to achieve a majority, would need to more than double its vote, the EFF would need to increase it more than sixfold. Neither is going to get close to a majority: the DA has acknowledged as much by targeting Ga...
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