Supporters hold up flags at the African National Congress (ANC) at the Election Manifesto Launch at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban earlier this year. (Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)
From the perspective of the foreign media, it’d be great if everyone just votes for the ANC and keeps the status quo thank you, writes Phillip de Wet.
As long as they are far, far away and not prone to bouts of madness, dictators are a blessing when you work on the foreign desk in a media organisation. You don’t have to learn to spell a new name for decades at a time, and you don’t need to develop a new sense of context for a country.
Oh, they talk about change and renewal and policy pivots, but what they do never changes, just as their motivations and biases and blindspots never change.
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