Lekota dying to form an alliance with the DA

“Congress of the People (Cope) leader Mosiuoa Lekota says his party will not hesitate to form an alliance with the Democratic Alliance if necessary, and that if he and DA leader Helen Zille agree on an issue, he will go to his grave to defend it.” (IOL)

“Former defence minister and chairperson of the Congress of the People, Terror Lekota, has applied for an extension of police VIP protection, the SABC reported on Tuesday. His lawyers had confirmed that letters were sent to Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa and acting police commissioner Tim Williams. Lekota reportedly protested against the move saying there was still a threat to his life. His lawyers were expecting to receive a response on Wednesday afternoon.” (IAfrica)

In other words there is no issue that Lekota won’t go to his grave for but could the Safety and Security minister and the police just afford him a bit of VIP protection to help him Cope. Perhaps that could guide the party on the oath to be taken by new members: “I hereby solemnly swear to uphold the principles of the party, serve its interests and abide by its rules and regulations … so help me Cope”.

What I can’t wait to see is the court battle between the ANC and Cope over the name of the new party. Wait! Let me rephrase that — I can’t wait to see the battle outside of court between the ANCYL and Cope over the name of the new party. Members of Cope standing there and chanting … “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words …” THUNK!! (A brick smashes into the wall behind the Cope team)

Anyhow! It’s going to be fascinating to see how an alliance or even loose cooperation between Cope and the Democratic Alliance will play out. There is no doubt that it would be in their interests, for this election at least, to work together to tackle their common opponent, the ANC. How much common ground they actually share will start to emerge over the coming months.

Of course we are all aware of their common desire for an independent judiciary, the rule of law and seeing that all are treated equally before the law, but on policies from the economy to foreign affairs it’s not that simple. Where, for example, would Cope stand on Zimbabwe at present? What is their position on the arms deal? How do they see the division between the government and the civil service?

One interesting feature is going to be their position on the president of the country. Cope have stated that they want the country to vote for the president rather than him being appointed by the parties. I’d be interested to see who they have in mind for their candidate. Perhaps they might tell us now to help us Cope.

Are they also of the view that important roles like the Attorney General, Commissioner of Police and certain other strategic state appointments should be made by the voters rather than the parties? This may be just as, if not more, important if South Africa’s current history of dealing with crime at the top is factored in.

Of course we have to bear in mind that Cope is the progeny of the split in the ANC and, lest we forget, their leadership, in the main, comprised those who were part of former president Thabo Mbeki’s ruling faction. They brought in the policies they are slaughtering while they were in power. How this now makes them compatible with the Democratic Alliance, who slammed these policies at the time, is anyone’s guess. We shall just have to wait and see how they Cope in tackling the thorny issue of decrying policies they implemented themselves.

It really is going to be an extraordinary election.