SOUTH AFRICA: COSATU-GNU Must Be Progressive, Mechanisms Needed For Stability

Wires carrying comments from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the country's largest labour federation. Says that it 'Will engage with the ANC and Communist Party over the coming days to ensure [tripartite] alliance has a clear path forward.'. COSATU: 'It is critical that [any] gov't of national unity (GNU) is anchored on progressive principles and be biased towards uplifting [the] working class'. Adds, 'Engagements within the alliance and amongst elected parties need to ensure [that] mechanisms be put in place to ensure stability of [the] GNU'. 

• The non-parliamentary COSATU forms part of the 'tripartite alliance' with the ANC and the (also non-parliamentary) South African Communist Party, an organisation formed in 1990 following Nelson Mandela's release from prison with the aim of ending apartheid. 
• Within the tripartite alliance there appear to be schisms emerging. The SACP backs the ANC working with the extreme-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), while COSATU, despite historic mistrust of the pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA) has backed working with the party as an ANC-DA deal is viewed as less economically disruptive. 
• It is unclear what mechanisms could support the stability of a GNU, given that any agreement involving so many disparate, and in many cases extremely adversarial, parties will inevitably prove unstable.