Some blame the politicking in current affairs on paranoia by the president. In his suspicion about plots, he is said to have engendered a climate of smear, rumour and leakings. It’s comrade vs comrade, and spy vs spy. With a couple of criminal elements seemingly mixed up in it all.
The analysis points to selective use of weapons of state — an institution that ought to be impartial — as the order of the day when it comes to opponents. Personal loyalty is raised above political principle. All thanks to a besieged psyche.
There’s just one problem in this reading. It overstates the role of an individual. Sure, there are those who diagnose Mbeki as a pretender towards being an imperial president. Certainly, he does indeed occupy the top position and he exerts formidable intellectual influence.
But, even so, the “great man theory of history” can’t explain a whole political culture as such. Personality factors can only go so far in satisfying our need to know how on earth we (and not only he) got to into the state we’re in.
There’s gotta be a more complex explanation. Next: explanation number one: “ideology”. (Or is “personality” already number one?)
A prince with dignity and determination
Prince Ngarambe’s goals are to become Rwanda’s first transgender model and to uplift the country’s youth
The EFF’s principles are unshakeable
Unlike the ANC, the core values of the freedom fighters do not change with each leader it elects
