South Africa’s year-old multiparty Government of National Unity faces a critical test. Tensions between the two largest coalition partners are rapidly escalating. The Democratic Alliance and the African National Congress are increasingly at loggerheads.
This growing discord now threatens the stability of the unity government. It formed last June after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority. This marked a historic shift after three decades of dominance.
DA leader John Steenhuisen voiced outrage recently. President Cyril Ramaphosa removed DA official Andrew Whitfield from his Cabinet. Whitfield’s post as deputy minister of trade and industry was rescinded.
Ramaphosa cited an unauthorized international trip as justification. Steenhuisen, however, sees a calculated political maneuver. He called it a direct attack on his party’s influence.
The DA has withdrawn from the national dialogue immediately. Steenhuisen stated the president cannot dialogue with his own partners. This initiative aimed to tackle critical national challenges.
Political analysts mostly believe the GNU will endure. They view current frictions as internal party politics. Both sides are playing to their constituents. Early elections are constitutionally impossible for three years.
