The Enduring Horror of South Africa

The successful instigation of a media frenzy around Brett Murray's painting, a last ditch attempt to conflate Zuma with the nation, and its wounds, bought him a little time. But outside of the networks of patronage, circles animated by ethnic sentiment, the social conservatives who relish the idea of stepping back from democratic commitments and the Orwellian histrionics of the SACP and the union leaders trailing in its wake, Zuma's credibility is finished. But it's the party and not the country that elects the president and, at this point, there's no clarity as to the likely outcome in Mangaung. Read more