MUCH fuss was made in the last week over the crisis in the government of national unity and FW de Klerk’s threats to abandon the ship. But there was never a real crisis.
For one thing, De Klerk’s threats were hollow. It was a tantrum by someone who is still coming to terms with the limits of his powers in the new South Africa and who had one eye on his party’s federal congress, where he was expecting to catch flak for being too cosy with the ANC.
Besides, a walkout from the cabinet now would harm the National Party and its constituency more than anyone else. As if to prove the point, the NP went straight from threatening to leave the GNU to an argument, in the constitutional assembly, for the GNU to continue beyond its current five-year lifespan into perpetuity.
But even if the Nats left the GNU, would it present such a crisis? On the contrary, it would allow a democratically-elected government to get on with the tough business of implementing its policies and making the decisive and firm moves so badly needed in this country. It would also bolster the currently weak parliamentary opposition benches, since the NP would be free to speak out, saying whatever it wished about the ANC without holding back.
The GNU is going to end, as it should. It is a brilliant transitional arrangement to bridge the gap between minority rule and conventional democracy. But it has a lifespan of only a few years. Just as it would be suicidal for the NP or the Inkatha Freedom Party to leave the GNU now, so would it be foolish for either of them to contest the next election without a firm and separate identity from the ANC. It is extremely likely that the NP and the IFP will choose the right moment in the build-up to the next election to assert their independence.
And let’s hope so. It will be good for democracy. Multiparty democracy, after all, rests on a separation and balance of powers — a system of checks and balances — rather than the behind-closed-doors horse-trading that characterises a coalition government.
Nelson Mandela, or his successor, may then choose to form a coalition government or invite valuable individuals who do not belong to the ANC into his government. They would do so voluntarily, making it a much more valuable and workable arrangement than the current forced partnership.
Meanwhile, it’s important to note that De Klerk emerges from this week’s events a weaker man. He had one trump card in his hand — the threat to walk out of the GNU — and he chose a strange time and a strange issue over which to play it.
Nevertheless, he played it. And if he plays it again, Mandela will be tempted to accept it. If so, it will speed up our progress to normal, majority-rule democracy.