Whatever was inside his head, De Klerk’s actions represented a choice that would (in all likelihood, and apparent that February) result in his and his party’s eviction from power, and the possibility of avoiding a confrontation that would ultimately have destroyed the country. Across the Limpopo, Zimbabwe showed what could happen when an entrenched oligarchy dug itself in and refused to yield. Zanu-PF remains in power, but the country has been devastated.
AuthorTerence Corrigan
Terence Corrigan is a project manager at the Institute of Race Relations, South Africa’s oldest think tank promoting individual and societal freedom. Readers are invited to support the IRR by sending an SMS to 32823 (SMSes cost R1, Ts and Cs apply).
