Mandela Rival Takes Over (At Least for a Few Days)
Mandela Rival Takes Over (At Least for a Few Days) By SUZANNE DALEY Published: February 1
New York Times
By SUZANNE DALEY
Published: February 1, 1997
JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 31— In an announcement that provoked uncertain laughter in the Senate, President Nelson Mandela today appointed his archrival, Chief Mangosuthu G. Buthelezi, to stand in as Acting President when he leaves the country this weekend.
The legislators were at first not sure whether Mr. Mandela was joking in handing his longtime rival full presidential powers. But the President said he had chosen Mr. Buthelezi because he was a ''highly competent and experienced leader.''
For his part Chief Buthelezi, the fiery leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, said he was filled with awe by the President's gesture and hoped nothing would happen to show that he ''did not deserve such trust.'' But no one seemed too concerned that he would take undo advantage of his expanded authority.
The move -- an artful gesture of political reconciliation -- comes at a time when Chief Buthelezi seems to have dug in his heels in peace talks to end years of bloody conflict between Mr. Mandela's African National Congress and Inkatha, the country's second-largest black party.
It was also the strangest move in a month full of strange political twists and turns among South Africa's major political parties.
Both Mr. Mandela and the former President, F. W. de Klerk, the leader of National Party, have been flirting with new alliances, and Chief Buthelezi has loudly rejected the latest A.N.C. peace offering and orchestrated a major housecleaning in his own party. Though the next elections are still more than two years away, the jockeying for position has clearly begun.
The changes in the Zulu-based Inkatha are Mr. Buthelezi's reaction to his party's poor showing in local elections last year and disagreements over how to reach a peace agreement with the A.N.C. Three top Inkatha leaders have resigned, including Frank Mdlalose, the chairman of the party, and Ziba Jiyane, the secretary general. They cited health reasons and business interests for leaving, but many analysts say the resignations were forced.
Inkatha seems to be in disarray after losing such party stalwarts, though some analysts say Chief Buthelezi has made a shrewd choice in picking Mr. Mdlalose's replacement, Ben Ngubane, who is considered a moderate, a good administrator and a skillful negotiator.
''A reorganization had been expected for some time,'' said Laurence Schlemmer, of the Institute of Race Relations, a nonprofit research organization. ''These things have got to be seen in light of the poor performance in the local elections. They did very badly in relation to their potential support.''
Despite the continuing rivalry between the two, Chief Buthelezi has remained in Mr. Mandela's coalition Government, as his Minister of Home Affairs, which made him eligible to fill in for the President. The Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki, who would normally take on the position, will also be out of the country, accompanying Mr. Mandela to an international economic forum in Davos, Switzerland; this allows Mr. Mandela to fill the post at his own discretion.
Peace negotiations have continued off and on since the elections last May, and in that time political violence has declined in KwaZulu/Natal province, the Inkatha stronghold. But Chief Buthelezi seemed to upset any notion that progress was being made when, earlier this month, he vehemently rejected an offer by A.N.C. of a special amnesty for both sides in the years of bloody political warfare in the province.
In the meantime, some smaller parties, like pretty girls on the eve of the prom, suddenly have more invitations than they know what do to with as Mr. de Klerk and Mr. Mandela go looking for alliances.
The A.N.C., which won more than 60 percent of the vote last time, is looking to shore up its base. While it is expected to keep its majority in the next election, even though Mr. Mandela has said he will serve only one term, recent polls show some support fading as new jobs and houses fail to materialize and the crime rate stays high.
At the same time Mr. de Klerk, whose National Party brought apartheid to South Africa, is struggling to extend its support beyond moderate Afrikaner and Afrikaans-speaking mixed-race households.
After a caucus earlier this month, Mr. de Klerk reiterated the party's willingness to change its name and announced he would be looking for alliances perhaps with the Democratic Party, the small white party that bitterly opposed apartheid, and Inkatha. Mr. de Klerk said that while a merger was unlikely, there were issues these vastly divergent parties could see eye to eye on. For instance, all three would like more power in the hands of local governments.
But within days Mr. Mandela infuriated Mr. de Klerk by approaching the Democratic Party himself, pulling aside its leader, Tony Leon, to discuss an alliance of their own. Mr. Leon insists he was not offered a cabinet post -- as was widely rumored -- but he does have the demeanor of a Cheshire cat. He is also meeting with Mr. de Klerk this week, he said.
The Democratic Party has been one of the most effective and articulate critics of the Mandela administration. Though it continues to have only a small following, it has a powerful constituency in the wealthy suburbs of Johannesburg.
''The question for us is, how do we have the most impact on getting things straight in this country,'' Mr. Leon said. ''South Africa is at a very critical time.''
Mr. de Klerk accused Mr. Mandela of trying to isolate him. But Mr. Mandela had other reasons too, including the need to make sure his Government has notable white participation.
This became even more urgent when he asked another black party -- the Pan Africanist Congress -- to join his coalition Government. That party, which campaigned on a black supremacist platform in 1994 and won only 5 seats in the 400-member Parliament, is undergoing an overhaul that could help restore its influence. In December it elected a moderate leader, Stanley Mogoba, who has signaled his intention to reconcile whites and blacks.
But this alliance left Mr. Mandela in an awkward political position.
''Being divided over racial lines is obviously not a great thing,'' said Mr. Leon. ''Approaching me is genuine nation-building and very shrewd politics.''
Photo: Chief Mangosuthu G. Buthelezi, leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, has been named Acting President by President Nelson Mandela. (Reuters)
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