It would be a mistake to dismiss Agang, the new political platform established by Mamphela Ramphele, as doomed to be just another minnow like Cope or the UDM.
The platform, a precursor to a political party, does not come with the baggage that burdened breakaways from the ANC.
But the biggest factor is Ramphele herself. With roots in rural areas and black consciousness and impressive achievements in academia and business, Ramphele has mettle and “cred”.
Her launch speech had resonance, recalling the idealism that was very much the thread from which our democratic order was woven. The echoes of the moral high ground enjoyed by the liberation movements, activists’ sacrifices and the glow of Madiba’s rainbow nation were loud. Many of the issues highlighted are common cause, including in the ANC – corruption, governance failures, the public service, problems in education, and endemic poverty. At least for now this remains a list of what is wrong rather than concrete proposals to put it right.
One definite is a campaign to collect a million signatures calling for electoral reform that would see MPs account to their constituencies rather than party bosses. Such a move away from proportional representation – which favours opposition parties who’d struggle to win seats in a winner-takes-all, constituency-based system – has gained little traction.
Should Ramphele make the leap to head a political party, her platform would probably most easily attract black middle-class voters, particularly professionals – a small but growing, and influential, grouping. This would affect not only the ANC but the DA.
Ramphele is also likely to win opposition voters who have backed the UDM, the Independent Democrats and later Cope. It may well be in small parties’ interests to find common cause, rather than face annihilation.
The big questions are what relationship there will be with the DA; whether Agang can attract the ANC’s “bread and butter” voters, the rural and poor; and whether Ramphele can appeal to the increasingly significant “born frees”.