White politics: Opportunity or constraint
Date
1990-03-19
Authors
Schlemmer, Lawrence
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Abstract
The context within which political conflict plays itself out in
South Africa has changed dramatically since FW de Klerk's speech
to the opening of parliament on 2 February this year. The wide-ranging
announcements have impacted on all political actors
operating both within and outside the country. For the white
political parties in South Africa, one of the consequences of the
speech has been the disturbance of the traditional alignments
and relationships between them. Some analysts now argue that
South Africa has already seen Its last white election and
conclude that not only has the Conservative Party no chance of
ever gaining power, but that the Democratic Party must Inevitably
crumble under the pressure of an accommodation between the NP
and the ANC. Gerrit Viljoen's recent statement that the NP was
“not very likely to be in control” in ten years time reinforces
this line of analysis (Citizen 7 February 1990).
These are some of the conventional wisdoms colouring the current
perspectives of "white" politics. This paper takes issue with
some of these perspectives by examining the dimensions of the
fluidity In white politics and evaluating the potential role
that changing white political orientations may play in the newly
emerging politics in South Africa. The analysis of the likely
trends in white politics is based on the election and referendum
results during the decade of the 1980s. White political
attitudes remain an important factor especially since F.W. de
Klerk has committed himself to holding either a referendum or an
election to endorse any new constitution.
Description
African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented 19 March 1990. Not to be quoted without the Author's permission.
Keywords
South Africa. Politics and government, 1989-1994