Parties place a good deal of weight on the permanent presence of posters. At first it seems like an advertisement for an estate agent. “Come Home!” the poster proclaims, above a photo of an apparently rather geniallooking man, who seems vaguely familiar. Then you realise, as you get closer, that you recognise him …
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/ 24 February 2004
Initially they stood at the back of the gathering, arms folded, but looking confident — smiling, jesting with one another. The ration dealers of rural Rajasthan — or, at least, of one small part of this giant Indian state. But this was a day of reckoning; soon they were to be called to account, shaken off their smug perches.
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/ 10 February 2004
For the ruling party facing a general election there are huge advantages of incumbency. Many are as unavoidable as they are inevitable. In South Africa, the ANC government can plan its policy roll-out to suit the election timetable. It can publish government studies, as it did last November, which extol the virtues of the government’s performance.
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/ 20 January 2004
Remember ”Heineken — the beer that refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach”? It was a great marketing slogan. But now, if you search the Heineken website, it is conspicuous by its absence. Advertising and marketing strategists like to move on; staleness is to be avoided at all costs, which is why it is a bit surprising considering the ANC’s old slogan …
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/ 9 December 2003
Bolivia. You land at 4 000m above sea level, so it is not just the scenery that takes the breath away. Surrounding the country’s international airport are the poverty stricken shanty towns of the world’s highest capital city, La Paz. Personal popularity will allow Bolivia’s active president a window of opportunity to reinvent his government’s relationship with its people.
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/ 5 December 2003
President Thabo Mbeki’s is a presidency given to deep philosophical reflection, so it’s surprising that a watershed debate he started on African democracy has been so under-reported.
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/ 25 November 2003
Last Monday should have been formally named ”National Corruption Day” or perhaps, better, ”Corruption Awareness Day” — which has the advantage of an appealingly apt acronym. But Monday’s haul represented not so much a few bites as a trawler load.
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/ 28 October 2003
Tom Devine is a decent American. A fighter for what he calls "free speech dissent" — whistle-blowing to you and me — he conceals the steel of a lifelong professional commitment to whistle-blowers beneath a gentle, soft-spoken exterior. It seems like he could not hurt a fly. But when he talks about Executive Order 13303 a quiet rage gathers about him.
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/ 23 September 2003
As Belize began its long weekend of partying on the night of September 10, the Imperial power of this age, the United States, began a different form of commemoration. The second anniversary of 9/11 appears to herald a new period of, perhaps, a deeper self-reflection. At least that’s the hope.
There have been various calls from a variety of sources for a judicial inquiry into the arms deal here in South Africa. And we should seriously consider holding one, argues Calland. South Africa must find a way to address the unanswered questions that remain.