The CP has put two proposals to the government with one prupose in mind — supremacy in the rightwing. Jan Taljaard reports
THE Conservative Party and Afrikaner Volksfront’s (CP/AVF) proposals to the government last Friday on their possible partici-pation in constitutional talks were a last-ditch bid for supremacy within the rightwing.
By putting two alternative proposals before the government, the CP has ensured that whichever proposal the government accepts will restore the CP as the rightwing’s chief representative.
The Freedom Front and the Volkstaat Council run the risk of being branded petulant spoilers if they block the initiative. But they also know that accepting either alternative could see them relegated to positions of far less influence.
The CP/AVF’s first — and preferred — proposal involves researching volkstaat proposals, negotiating them with the government and then testing support with a referendum.
The alternative proposal involves the CP/AVF participating in the volkstaat council, set up in terms of the constitution to negotiate a volkstaat. But the CP/AVF predicates its participation on amending the constitution to designate the council as purely a research body. It also wants the council doubled in size — with the extra 20 seats going to its own appointees.
The first proposal, if accepted, will see the CP/AVF on an equal, but separate, footing with the Freedom Front and the council.It envisages the CP/AVF and the council each researching volkstaat models independently. If the two sides fail to reach consensus, a referendum will be used to test which model is the more popular.
It may well be on this issue that the Freedom Front and council are coerced into playing along with the CP/AVF. If the CP joins the process, it could bring an estimated 600 000 more votes to the 600 000-odd polled by the FF in the general election. This added weight to the rather vague tenet of “sufficient support” for a volkstaat may well win the FF’s co- operation in the end.
Only one question then remains: will the government fall for it?