Thomas Johnson - The Blog

 A government of national unity is used in extraordinary times, not when the incumbent party loses an election. Ramaphosa presented the county in crisis because the ANC lost the majority. But then the ANC has always conflated party and state. Mainstream media analysts credit Ramaphosa personally with the GNU, describing it as a masterstroke. Shaking off recent disappointment, their Ramaphoria is reborn. Ramaphoria 2.0. The supreme "negotiator" is back, they say. That the ANC's centre went into coalition with centre-right DA is due to his genius. It's irrelevant the EFF and MK made this possible with their predictably provocative demands. Had they not, the ANC's partners would have been them. So must we thank Ramaphosa's putative genius or EFF's and MK's stupidity for us not having ruinous coalition? Doesn't matter to the Ramaphorias.  From Ramaphosa's inauguration speech, the clamour project positive things for the GNU, though based on a coalit...

The mainstream media is alarmed by the formation of the MK Party. It's composed of disaffected supporters. The alarm is exacerbated since Jacob Zuma has thrown his support behind it. The liberal-left blames Zuma and his supporters for SA's state: corruption death spiral, failing state and social and economic decline. While Zuma and those on his coat tails bear a huge responsibility, the entire ANC was and is responsible.  Daily Maverick asks how can Zuma's supporters still back him after what he's done to the country. They've demonized Zuma, and rightly so. But corruption has worsened under Ramaphosa. As president of the country and ANC he failed to act against those in his party, cadres and others complicit in state capture and failed to implement Zondo Commission recommendations. Members of his cabinet including himself (Phala Phala) who have credible allegations implicating them in corruption are sitting pretty. He was head of the cadre deployment committee, the ...