Admin
10 Dec, 1997
Court case against UDM Pretoria Councillors
Joint media statement by the UDM and the NP The National Party (NP) and the United Democratic Movement (UDM) have jointly decided that the pending court case regarding the UDM members who have resigned from the NP whilst retaining their elected positions on the Pretoria City Council, not be proceeded with. It is a joint viewpoint that the situation in the country in the national interest requires from everybody to rather concentrate on the bigger issues. Policy differences between the two parties are not dissolved by this agreement, but in further decision-making regarding relevant issues in Pretoria, the interests of all the residents of the city will be the determining factor.
Admin
24 Nov, 1997
Futile summit by opposition parties
Statement issued by Roelf Meyer Over the recent past, the idea of closer co-operation between opposition parties in our country, has been mooted a couple of times. This idea has to be exposed for the futile exercise in hopelessness it essentially is now that the NP has announced plans to hold such a summit early next year. These ‘plans’ are essentially similar to proposals the DP has made earlier and can be interpreted either as a concerted effort by the two parties to get such a summit off the ground, or a hijacking by the NP of a DP initiative. Fact is that efforts on these lines will be futile if the crucial issue, namely a restructuring of our politics, is not addressed. The bigger picture is that South African parliamentary politics is presently being conducted along racial lines, with the essentially ‘white’ parties in no position to threaten the majority, essentially ‘black’ party, notwithstanding attempts by the ‘white’ parties to rearrange themselves. These efforts will rather increase the racial polarisation by being interpreted as a ganging up against the ANC, even if attempts to draw in the IFP, which is regarded as a Zulu traditional niche party, is successful. These attempts will be futile in changing the present numbers game in our politics. Without successfully increasing their support bases, the combined support of the parliamentary opposition parties will not even reach 25% according to recent polling figures. This is an even more emasculated opposition than at present. The only viable answer is to restructure the politics out of the present racial rut and present South Africans from all communities with political parties that appeal on grounds of their values, visions and policies rather than the racial ticket. This means that parties need to shed the image and baggage that presently prevent members from other communities to vote for them. The NP and DP, for example, will never in their present forms be able to attract meaningful black support. This is the political reality around which the NP and DP are conducting their futile egg-dances. Without making this paradigm shift, they are destined to become withering niche parties with nothing more than curiosity value. The parties will therefore have to reinvent themselves. The NP cannot expect black support for itself as a party or its idea of an opposition summit while clamouring for consolidation of its (essentially white) support base. The UDM was born as a result of the determination to present to South Africans a party free from historical baggage, with sound core values and well-grounded policy positions suited to the needs of the real South Africa. It has already proved itself by attracting support from literary all communities in the country. It is at present the only party able to draw substantial support in ANC strongholds, as illustrated by rallies in the Eastern Cape, where 20 000 supporters attended, the North West Province, Mpumalanga and the Northern Province. While the DP and NP are busy rearranging the deckchairs on their political Titanic, the UDM is building a substantial party on its vision of a party for all South Africans, aiming at making South Africa a winning nation to the benefit of all her people.
Admin
22 Aug, 1997
NP legal action against Pretoria councillors
Statement issued by NMP Media Manager The following observations can be made regarding court procedures started by the National Party against the 8 Pretoria councillors who have joined the New Movement Process: It is contravening the policy of the NP, namely that provision must be made in the Constitution allowing elected representatives to exercise their own free will regarding party loyalties. Mr De Klerk himself has, on a number of occasions, requested that the anti defection clause be scrapped. It creates a climate of non-participation with the NP court cases alienate people. It contravenes the promotion of multi-party democracy and the promises by the NP itself that it will work together to create a realignment of the political scene. It leaves the impression that the NP is only concerned about its own interests and only wants to restructure politics on its own terms. It is clear that something drastically needs to be done to restructure the political scene. Dissatisfaction with the ANC nonwithstanding, no opposition party has been able to achieve any gains from the situation. Results of the latest survey conducted by the HSRC, confirm this: ANC support has dropped to 53%, but the opposition has even fared worse, with a grand total of only 21%. The only solution is therefore to strengthen multi-party democracy by creating a new political formation. This is exactly what the NMP is busy doing. It is incidentally also the decision the 10 Pretoria councillors have reached, in line with the broad interest of South Africa. The moment this happened, the NP again lapsed into its style of practising politics through litigation. What is also significant, is the apparent division in the NP’s own ranks. At the end of July, subsequent to final decisions on the Executive Council posts in the Pretoria council, Mr Sam de Beer and myself were discussing the NMP proposal, namely that the NP should retain chairmanship of the Exec Council. It then came to light, though, that the NP has already reached an agreement with the ANC, in terms of which the NP will lose the chairmanship. The question is: Who managed these negotiations? Whilst discussions were again initiated between Mr De Beer and myself during the past couple of days, the process of issuing the court orders was continued. Again it leaves the impression that there is division in NP ranks. The NMP has all the time been of the opinion that we must look at the future regarding restructuring of politics and contributing to multi-party democracy. It is therefore counter-productive to launch any action to the detriment of opposition parties and to the benefit of the ANC. This was also the view of the NMP councillors, and I reject emphatically the allegation that their actions have benefited the ANC. If the NP wants to test voter opinion under present circumstances, an ideal opportunity presents itself with the coming election for Students’ Representative Council at the University of Pretoria. The election is held on party political base. During 1996, the NP participated and did the best from all political parties. This year, the NP has failed to even nominate any candidates, evidently because of lack of interest.
