Not that I have any faith in any politician, not at all. But it's a big deal for a liberation party like the ANC to avoid steering hard left when losing their majority vote.
Which is what just happened in the recent election.
The conditions were (and still are) ripe for radical far-left communist policies to take hold, and yet, that's not what we're seeing.
Instead, we're witnessing a "return to the center" with a coalition between the ANC and their sworn enemies, the DA ... which is pretty miraculous, if you think about it.
Many people say the miracle came in 1994 when the country did not descend into all out civil war with the first democratic election.
But perhaps 2024 is the real miracle.
The transition from an authoritarian apartheid regime to democracy started in 1994. And only now, 30 years later, the final stage is in play.
Things could easily have taken a turn for the worse. Rampant poverty, state failure, massive inequality, desperate living conditions for millions. This is the stuff that advocates for communism and total state control breathe and live off.
And the already leftist ANC had the option to go that further down that route with a different coalition.
And yet, they did not.
While the west is in obvious decline, and the East is gravitating toward authoritarian regimes, I feel quite comfortable sitting where I am, knowing that, at least for now, more common sense seems to have prevailed here than in most other places.
This not a vote of confidence, it is too early for that.
But it is a tentative feeling of positivity.
I've always known that there's massive potential here. If politicians allowed it. By applying more common sense, sticking to their job and mostly just getting out of the way, there's no reason that that potential can not be realized.
Yes, I'm quite positive about the future of South Africa.
