Publication: Pretoria News Issued: Date: 2005-12-30 Reporter: Editorial Reporter: Reporter:

Not Too Bad a Year, and Actually

 

Publication 

Pretoria News
Date 2005-12-30

Reporter

Editorial

Web Link

www.pretorianews.co.za

 

South Africa can look back on the year 2005 with, by and large, some sense of satisfaction. The economy seemed to be handled well enough by those in charge of it, while the political arena produced not just excitement but very pleasing confirmation of resilience and strength.

The political show of the year, of course, was Jacob Zuma's fall from grace, which smeared serious egg on the faces of those – primarily blinkered unionists, ritual communists and arrogant students – who backed him. The intrigue and scandal went on for months, and tested our post-apartheid country's democratic institutions as never before.

We do not encourage people to burn anything, whether books, flags, railway property or political T-shirts, but the fact that those aligned with our somewhat aloof President could remain aloof even from the T-shirt-burning said a great deal about the new South Africa's political maturity. The drama that has been playing itself out (and is not over yet) may not have happened at all in certain other countries.

So on we go. The coming year is likely to be at least as interesting as the one that is now coming to an end.

Our wish for all our readers is that they prosper and are safe. Happy New Year!

With acknowledgements to Pretoria News.


*1  It'll be seen in the second half of 2006 or the first half of 2007 how easy it is to remain aloof with a serious smearing of egg on one's face.

Actually, 2006 and 2007 threaten to be not too bad years either - for some of those among us, indeed.