The ANC in general, and President Jacob Zuma in particular, has once again suggested the party boasts a divine mandate to govern.
The claim that the ANC governs ("rules" in ANC parlance) with divine authority is nothing new, but it is particular to the ANC under Zuma. You never read this kind of stuff from former president Thabo Mbeki, and Nelson Mandela was famously guarded about his private religious convictions.
Zuma leads ANC campaign blitz in the Eastern Cape
But, over the past decade, Zuma has introduced an intense level of religiosity into the party, part of his demagogic armoury. Obviously suggesting a party is sanctioned by God is one of the most antidemocratic sentiments one can express; for it negates free choice, the cornerstone of any constitutional dispensation. Indeed, what is the point of elections at all if God has predetermined the outcome?
They say the final stage for any real delusional individual, the kind of person completely off their rocker, is the belief that God confides in them directly about his plans for the world. Delusional or not, Zuma certainly believes he and the ANC operate at the behest of God himself. The recently released Statistics SA General Household Survey shows about 86% of South Africans are religious. So, there is a significant market for this kind of thing, and the party drives the message relentlessly — particularly during elections.
Zuma and the ANC on the divine right to rule
The ANC in general, and President Jacob Zuma in particular, has once again suggested the party boasts a divine mandate to govern.
The claim that the ANC governs ("rules" in ANC parlance) with divine authority is nothing new, but it is particular to the ANC under Zuma. You never read this kind of stuff from former president Thabo Mbeki, and Nelson Mandela was famously guarded about his private religious convictions.
Zuma leads ANC campaign blitz in the Eastern Cape
But, over the past decade, Zuma has introduced an intense level of religiosity into the party, part of his demagogic armoury. Obviously suggesting a party is sanctioned by God is one of the most antidemocratic sentiments one can express; for it negates free choice, the cornerstone of any constitutional dispensation. Indeed, what is the point of elections at all if God has predetermined the outcome?
They say the final stage for any real delusional individual, the kind of person completely off their rocker, is the belief that God confides in them directly about his plans for the world. Delusional or not, Zuma certainly believes he and the ANC operate at the behest of God himself. The recently released Statistics SA General Household Survey shows about 86% of South Africans are religious. So, there is a significant market for this kind of thing, and the party drives the message relentlessly — particularly during elections.
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