A study by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra) has been investigating prospects for getting a stable, pro-people, coalition government in South Africa. It explores prevailing South Africa practice in African and global contexts, analyses the “coalition culture” that has been taking hold in South Africa and synthesises the changes and reforms, including legal, that are possible.
Coalitions are the answer when political parties in democracies do not win by outright margins and majority governments have to be constituted. Yet, the way in which political parties and politicians practise coalitions in South Africa means coalitions are, at best, a fraught alternative.
