Ditto! COPE is a truly hideous acro-name. They could have at least used COP. The problem you allude to is closely tied to that hideous name. They are at a disadvantage because they do not have a history and as such a philosophy. They lack a spiritual dimension. A name like Freedom Charter Front would have given them such an instant timeless spiritual credential whilst at the same time not tying them to a limiting ideology that will ultimately expire like the SACP . That is partially the problem with SA’s opposition parties. They offer little in terms of larger unifying causes and all go for niche markets. Personally I could never vote for a party called COPE, which rhymes with dope and mope and nope and sounds like the name of a dying horse. As for the personalities behind the party, the party could have fared a whole lot better with Shilowa at the helm. However much I welcome a split in the ANC I could never support Lekota after his abysmal performance as a cabinet minister. Under his leadership the DoD failed to get a qualified report from the Auditor-General for an astonishing five consecutive years and today our air force is on the brink of collapse. With him at the helm our country will be a car crash not at all unlike the tax payers’ BMW that he so utterly recklessly wrote off. Of course it must also be noted(conspiracy theorists take note) that it stands to reason that the minister in charge of the state department involved in the arms deal is the best man to provide the ANC with a double insurance policy to keep itself above the law. At the end of the day COPE needs a vision and a core philosophy that can offer it and the electorate inspiration of a higher purpose and the signs of our time has made the time ripe for that. Now all e need is a leader who can do the same. Lekota is by far a poor choice in that sense.

I agree regarding about the unfortunate name – at least Shikota have finally got one though (actually I believe even COPE is still a maybe!).

I ran an interesting poll on our cartoon blog asking whether people would vote for a DA-Shikota alliance – the hypothesis was that DA has a brand but not the support, Shikota have the support but not the brand (as you clearly indicate in your post) – the proposition was that the 2 parties collaborate in order to obtain a majority in the next election as realistically, neither party will be able to do it on their own.. I would be keen to hear your thoughts.

You can view the cartoon and post on Wonkie

I think what has been the message so far is that a party with a brand and support is indeed a party, but it has to offer more. Laurence pointed out that they need policy to lead and I added that policy does not spring out of nowhere – it is closely tied to history and faith in a larger cause. The ANC has all of those (the cause now being poverty) but the problem is that they tried to be a broad church for too long and now there is “broedertwis”, which if previous South African precedents are anything to go by, will be a Catholic Schism in which both “churches” claim to be the only true church. It is so predictable it is almost boring. As for an alliance, I doubt that much can come in terms of a majority government by relying on the DA. If that were possible then surely the DA would be more than just a one province party. What it could bring is a moral authority the ANC lacks, that is multi-racialism and moderate policies for the middle ground.

“Freedom Charter Front”? I don’t think so, RvdW. Not only doesn’t it have a nice ring to it, but the ANC would never allow it … and neither would the Freedom Front (plus).

Suomy- the actual name is irrelevant. What is relevant is the ideal it expresses in the context of what I said. Congress of the People does not convey an identity. It conveys yet another broad church. More importantly, instead of asking who we are voting for, we must know what we are voting for.

Hi RvdW: well, it was you who kvetched about the ugly “acro-name” (I couldn’t agree more). To me, though, what matters most is for the ANC losing its majority in Parliament. Me, I’ll stick with the DA.

As for the name, why didn’t COPE have the good sense to call themselves “The People’s Congress”? That would make them Pee-Cee. Peace for short! Grease for peace, RvdW.

Yes we can agree about my kvetching and their ugly acro-name and what it conveys. To answer your question – lets not forget that however much we can welcome a serious challenge to the ANC, it is still the same dumb asses who have been in power for the past 15 yeast who are doing the thinking. Take care.