In the aftermath of South Africa’s recent election, renewed hope has made an unexpected appearance. In difficult times, even small gains can be valuable. But, on occasion, much more is possible. Small gains can feed on each other; momentum can build; a virtuous spiral can take hold. This may be such a moment.
It’s not ordinarily a good sign when a party that governs from the (more-or-less) centre becomes mired in disillusion, and then loses more than a quarter of its support to a newly formed ethno-populist outsider. But over the past three decades South Africa has repeatedly managed to avert disaster. Apartheid was defeated; predatory ethno-populism has been contained. Perhaps the country’s propensity to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat may be surfacing yet again.
For this to happen, restraint rather than boldness is likely to be key.
