BN Edge | Corporate cash, coalition pressure: WSM on who calls the shots

It's the only area that has voted that has the only municipality that has voted for the DA ever. And again, this time is the only one who causes Lunatelle. When he won in 21, and then what is worth adding into the equation is that Pappas is a gay white man in a very socially conservative environment. So, you know, if you wanted to construct

The most unlikely political victory. Those are the ingredients that you would mix together. Yet, out of that came in 21 Pappas won the municipality with a single seat majority. At the end, it hinged on 42 votes. That was the difference between making it and not making it. He spent at least months, maybe years, dodging from.

House to house, not sleeping in the same place twice because there were threats against his life and they were credible threats. He's um his deputy in the municipality was murdered in front of his wife and children. Since then, another councillor has been killed. There were very violent protests when the municipality tried to enforce payment for municipal services, except for those who were indigent. So every

Everything was against him. I mean, the whole flow was he made it by a fluke of circumstance and it was very unlikely to be replicated. Yet, in the meantime, he turned the municipality around, delivered services, and delivered services to the black community. This time, instead of getting 48% of the vote, I think he got 64% of the vote. It's an extraordinary turnaround. And I think the key lesson to take.

From that, it's not about ideology. It's not about deeply ingrained racial attitudes. Yes, ideology plays a role, and deeply ingrained racial attitudes are there, and they certainly make a difference. But they can be overcome by honest politicians doing their jobs. It's a lesson that his own party needs to learn, or certainly is very aware of, since it is one of the reasons why it's been so successful in Cape Time. But it's certainly not a lesson that the ANC.