WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT is the profound effect this election is going to have on shaping the medium-term political landscape in the country. That means that it’s going to have a profound effect on how to go about trying to construct a Left party. And there are major...
election
POLITICAL PARTIES can’t be trusted with electoral reform
HOW DO WE MAKE OUR CHOSEN representatives more accountable to the country’s general populace? That has been the focus of most of our conversations about electoral reform. Our current system of proportional representation is designed to ensure that every vote cast in...
ZUMA Victory a Call for the Left to Vuka
An earthquake has hit the ANC. A new leadership has wiped out the Mbeki regime in the ANC leadership race. This is comparable to a landslide victory for an opposition party in a general election. Except in this case the opposition party was a broad coalition of...
South Africa: Snubbing quotas for women, snubs transformation
by Katherine Robinson Johannesburg, 7 February: While South Africa celebrates 20 years of democracy this year, the country will also be holding its national election, the first since 1994, without Madiba. If the last two months are anything to go by, we will surely...
The storm after the whirlwind: The ANC after Zuma
The big question for the political future of the ANC and that of South Africa, although it may appear early or some would say premature, is a post-Jacob Zuma plan. For the ANC, it just elected Cyril Ramaphosa as its deputy president, but given the recent example with...
Thatcher: an Obituary from Below | by Richard Seymour
Thatcher's great achievements were also what made her so vile. Her many talents were harnessed to bigoted, class-supremacist ends. Obituaries are typically concerned with the accomplishments and worthwhile qualities of the deceased. Thatcher's achievements are...
Europe’s crisis and the rise of the far right| by John Palmer
The general election of February in Italy produced a political deadlock over the formation of a new government and reawakened fears that the crisis of the European Union currency – the Euro – could take a new turn for the worse. A low turnout of voters (by Italian...
Understanding the Venezuelan Presidential Election Outcome| By Tamara Pearson
Things are chaotic here, as we recover from the surprise, disappointment, and a bit of hurt from the election results, but also go out in the street to express our support for those results, and to defend the national electoral system, one of the best and most secure...
Nicolás Maduro is Venezuela’s vote for Chávismo| by Mark Weisbrot
Hugo Chávez's economic policies were successful but a close vote means the new president cannot become complacent After a short but bitterly fought, insult-laden campaign, Chávista standard-bearer Nicolás Maduro defeated challenger Henrique Capriles, thus assuring...






