voters
Marianne Merten
It is going to be a tough choice for voters between the premier candidates of the Western Cape’s two largest political parties.
Neither African National Congress chair Ebrahim Rasool nor New National Party provincial leader Gerald Morkel is regarded as charismatic or people able to sway the province’s large number of undecided voters, particularly on the Cape Flats.
Over the past few weeks Rasool has been travelling relentlessly across the province to persuade potential voters to put their cross next to the ANC on the ballot paper. Rasool has been carried on shoulders, mobbed at meetings by those furiously waving ANC flags and pushed to the front of marches. He has accompanied Deputy President Thabo Mbeki on his election tour in the Western Cape, quietly talking to people to carry across the party’s message.
Morkel has kept a surprisingly low profile in the NNP’s election campaign. Earlier this month, the self-confessed Charles Bronson fan was out of action for a few days due to “a stomach bug”.
Most of Morkel’s engagements have been addressing crowds of loyal Nat supporters in halls. Smiling serenely and proudly displaying the NNP rosette on his impeccable suits, Morkel spoke to the applause of the converted but rarely winning the adulation which FW de Klerk received in the run-up to the 1994 election. But then neither has NNP leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
Analysts say they are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to picking a favourite. Rasool with his hardworking dedication and track record as health MEC wins hands down over Morkel. But neither man wins the stake for being engaging political personalities who can sway potential voters.
Professor of politics at the University of Cape Town, Robert Schrire, jokes he is biased since Rasool graduated from the department. “A political science graduate is unbeatable as premier.” He says Rasool is a modern generation leader with a clear understanding of issues facing provincial government. Rasool is also more articulate than Morkel, who has not really shone in his role as premier over the past year or so.
University of the Western Cape political scientist Keith Gottschalk says neither of the two men are crowd-pullers. He says Rasool is “a workaholic with a vision” while Morkel simply remained “dull, dour and plodding”.
Both premier candidates carry political baggage. Just before the ANC announced its candidate selection, rumours surfaced that Rasool would be left out because of doubts whether a Muslim man would be appropriate for the province.
Rasool made the list just hours before the premier candidates’ presentation. His battle at the head of the ANC in the Western Cape has also been marked by threats, intimidation and accusations that he has sold out as a Muslim when it comes to the legalisation of abortion and the abolition of the death penalty. He has approached these trials and tribulations with calmness and articulate, analytical rationality.
As Rasool faces graffiti on walls in Athlone on the Cape Flats urging “Kill Rasool”, Morkel’s ride has been tarnished only by a few backroom remarks about his drinking habits.
Yet Morkel’s bitter leadership battle with his colleague, number two on the provincial party list Peter Marais, continues to lurk in the corridors of the provincial government as speculation over Marais possible defection to the ANC has petered out only recently. Although Morkel won and rode off into the sunset with the backing of the Nat old guard in the end, grumbling about his wishy-washy leadership style has not stopped.
Says Gottschalk: “Morkel is reliable, responsible and does nothing rash and says nothing rash.”
Were the June 2 poll dependent on the personalities of political parties, potential voters would have a difficult time choosing. Luckily that puts the focus on the political parties’s policies – hopefully in the best interest of the province.